Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF), regarded as a precancerous condition, is characterized by juxta-epithelial inflammatory reaction followed by fibro-elastic change in the lamina properia and epithelial atrophy. The pathologic mechanisms of OSF still need to be further clarified. In the study, we investigated the functional expression of SSEA-4, which is a well-known stemness marker, in myofibrobla...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Myofibroblast apoptosis promotes the resolution of liver fibrosis. However, retaining macrophages may enhance reversal. The effects of specifically stimulating myofibroblast apoptosis in vivo were assessed. METHODS A single chain antibody (C1-3) to an extracellular domain of a myofibroblast membrane protein was injected as a fluorescent- or gliotoxin conjugate into mice with l...

In pathological conditions such as ischemic cardiomyopathy and heart failure, differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts may result in myocyte-fibroblast electrical coupling via gap junctions. We hypothesized that myofibroblast proliferation and increased heterocellular coupling significantly alter two-dimensional cardiac wave propagation and reentry dynamics. Co-cultures of myocytes an...

The origin of the myofibroblast in fibrotic lung disease is uncertain, and no effective medical therapy for fibrosis exists. We have previously demonstrated that transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) induces pleural mesothelial cell (PMC) transformation into myofibroblasts and haptotactic migration in vitro. Whether PMC differentiation and migration occurs in vivo, and whether this response ca...

The phenotype conversion of fibroblasts to myofibroblasts plays a key role in the pathogenesis of cardiac fibrosis. Numerous triggers of this conversion process have been identified, including plating of cells on solid substrates, cytokines such as transforming growth factor-β, and mechanical stretch; however, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely defined. Recent studies from our labora...

Peritoneal fibrosis is one of the major complications occurring in long-term peritoneal dialysis patients as a result of injury. Peritoneal fibrosis is characterized by submesothelial thickening and fibrosis which is associated with a decline in peritoneal membrane function. The myofibroblast has been identified as the key player involved in the development and progression of peritoneal fibrosi...

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a precancerous condition of the oral mucosa without specific therapeutic drugs. We previously demonstrated that the zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) plays a pathogenic role in the induction of the myofibroblast activity of buccal mucosal fibroblasts (BMFs) and contributes to the pathogenesis of OSF. Resveratrol is a natural polyphenolic flavonoid with...