Mast cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis of fibrosis because of their increased number in chronic inflammatory reactions. In a previous study, we had shown that human mast cells readily attach and form heterotypic cell-cell contacts when seeded on top of fibroblast monolayers. Here, we report that human mast cells stimulate fibroblast proliferation after cell-cell contact. Proliferat...

PURPOSE To determine whether differentiating corneal epithelium can temporally stimulate fibroblast activity. METHODS Corneal epithelial cells were cultured to confluence and then stimulated to mature into multilayered epithelia with addition of serum-containing medium. Differentiation was assessed morphologically and immunocytochemically using a monoclonal antibody to cytokeratin 3. At inter...

PC12 cells, which differentiate morphologically and biochemically into sympathetic neuron-like cells when treated with nerve growth factor, also respond to fibroblast growth factor. Some of the changes induced by fibroblast growth factor are similar to those seen after nerve growth factor treatment. Specifically, pituitary fibroblast growth factor causes the formation of processes initially com...

BACKGROUND Fibroblast proliferation is a common manifestation of chronic inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, etc. To alleviate patient suffering, the mechanism underlying fibroblast proliferation should be elucidated. METHODS CCK-8 assay was used to assess the stimulatory effect of LPS and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a novel fibroblast growth factor-2 gene formulation, providing a localized and sustained availability of the adenoviral vector from a collagen-based matrix, in combination with CO 2 transmyocardial laser revascularization would lead to an enhanced angiogenic response and improved myocardial function. METHODS Fibroblast growth fac...

Bleomycin-induced lung disease is characterized by fibroblast proliferation and pulmonary fibrosis. In these studies, we demonstrate that fibroblasts are relatively resistant to clinically relevant amounts (below 10(-4) U/ml) of bleomycin and that these levels of bleomycin augment fibroblast proliferation in response to various fibroblast growth factors. These observations suggest that one mech...