Background Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a fundamental biologic process whereby epithelial cells detach from the surrounding tissue and acquire characteristics of mesenchymal cells, a unique motile, spindle-shaped cell with endto-end polarity. EMT can be induced or regulated by various growth and differentiation factors; among these, TGFb has received much attention as a major indu...

Background: The mechanism underlying the ability of fibroblasts to contract a collagen gel matrix is largely unknown. Fibroblasts from scarred (lesional) areas of patients with the fibrotic disease scleroderma show enhanced ability to contract collagen relative to healthy fibroblasts. Thrombospondin 1 (TSP1), an activator of latent transforming growth factor (TGF)b, is overexpressed by sclerode...

Although the regulation of epithelial morphogenesis is essential for the formation of tissues and organs in multicellular organisms, little is known about how signalling pathways control cell shape changes in space and time. In the Drosophila ovarian epithelium, the transition from a cuboidal to a squamous shape is accompanied by a wave of cell flattening and by the ordered remodelling of Ecadh...

Members of the transforming growth factor b (TGFb) superfamily of peptide growth factors regulate a broad range of cellular functions, including proliferation, apoptosis, extracellular matrix secretion and adhesion, terminal differentiation, and specification of developmental fate (Roberts and Sporn 1993; Wall and Hogan 1994; Moses and Serra 1996). Although regulation of each of these functions...

Colorectal cancer patients with high levels of tumorinfiltrating T cells have better survival than patients with low levels. It is not clear whether the T cells are directly responsible for improved prognosis or are a sign of a tumor that is more responsive to conventional cancer therapies. If tumor infiltrating T cell numbers are associated with improved outcome, then we hypothesize that incre...

DOI:10.1097/MOL.0b013e32835ec608 Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory reaction of the arterial wall characterized by the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the nascent atherosclerotic lesions leading to its growth and eventual destabilization [1,2]. Transforming growth factor beta (TGFb), an anti-inflammatory cytokine, is centrally involved in balancing the immune response in atherosc...

Background: There is some evidence suggesting a close relationship between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and renal inflammation and fibrosis, which are crucial stages in chronic kidney disease. Methods: To verify the role of PUFAs in renal fibrosis processes, we investigated the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) on the gene expres...