Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a peptide secreted by cultured endothelial cells and fibroblasts when stimulated by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), and is overexpressed during fibrotic processes in coronary arteries and in skin. To determine whether CTGF is implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic glomerulosclerosis, cultured rat mesangial cells (MC) as well as kidney co...

Purpose: Here, we aimed to investigate the role of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) and to characterize the underlying mechanism of CTGF mediating adhesion. Experimental Design: A cohort of 136 CRC patient specimens was analyzed in this study. CRC cell lines were used for in vitro adhesion assay and in vivo peritone...

BACKGROUND Progressive hepatic fibrosis (HF) is a prominent feature of biliary atresia (BA), the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) in children. Despite its importance in BA, HF is not evaluated in routine patient care because the invasiveness of liver biopsy makes histologic monitoring of fibrosis unfeasible. Therefore, the identification of noninvasive markers to assess HF ...

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a potent pro-fibrotic factor, which is implicated in fibrosis through extracellular matrix (ECM) induction in diabetic cardiovascular complications. It is an important downstream mediator in the fibrotic action of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) and is potentially induced by hyperglycemia in human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Therefore, the...

The critical involvement of TGF-β1 (transforming growth factor-β1) in DN (diabetic nephropathy) is well established. However, the role of CTGF (connective tissue growth factor) in regulating the complex interplay of TGF-β1 signalling networks is poorly understood. The purpose of the present study was to investigate co-operative signalling between CTGF and TGF-β1 and its physiological significan...

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a 38 kDa, cysteine rich, extracellular matrix protein composed of 4 domains or modules. CTGF has been shown to regulate a diverse array of cellular functions and has been implicated in more complex biological processes such as angiogenesis, chondrogenesis, and osteogenesis. A role for CTGF in the development and maintenance of skeletal tissues first cam...

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is an important profibrotic factor in kidney diseases. Blockade of endogenous CTGF ameliorates experimental renal damage and inhibits synthesis of extracellular matrix in cultured renal cells. CTGF regulates several cellular responses, including adhesion, migration, proliferation, and synthesis of proinflammatory factors. Here, we investigated whether CTGF...

Due to its potent effect on fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis of fibrotic disease. Since glucocorticoids are frequently used for the therapy of these disorders, we determined a potential effect of these steroids on CTGF expression. In cultured fibroblasts, a striking induction ...

Osteoblast lineage-specific differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells is a well regulated but poorly understood process. Both bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and Wnt signaling are implicated in regulating osteoblast differentiation and bone formation. Here we analyzed the expression profiles of mesenchymal stem cells stimulated with Wnt3A and osteogenic BMPs, and we identified connective tis...

Purpose. This study was to determine the effect of CTGF-small interfering RNA (siRNA) on TGF- β 2-induced proliferation in human Tenon capsule fibroblasts (HTFs). Methods. HTFs were transfected with four of CTGF-siRNAs separately for screening of gene silencing efficacy that was determined by transcript level measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Recombinant TGF- β 2 was added into ...