Fibrotic lung tissue shows increased connective tissue deposition and fibroblast proliferation and in addition a substantial increase in mast cell numbers in and around the fibrotic area. To elucidate the question of whether products of mast cells affect the proliferative behaviour of structural cells in the lung and thereby contribute to fibrogenesis, the effect of histamine, a prominent mast ...

Human placental extract is used in the treatment of skin wrinkles and wounds. To date, no studies have evaluated the effects of placental extract on dermal fibroblast proliferation. To investigate the effects of placental extract versus ascorbic acid on fibroblast proliferation and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 expression, cultured human fibroblasts were treated with placental extract ...

Background and Purpose: Cardiac fibrosis is characterized by an increase in fibroblast proliferation, overproduction of extracellular matrix proteins, and the formation of myofibroblast that express α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiac fibrosis. Overstimulation of endothelin receptors induced cell proliferation, collagen synthesis, and α-...

BACKGROUND Cathelicidin (LL-37 in humans and mCRAMP in mice) represents a family of endogenous antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory peptides. Cancer-associated fibroblasts can promote the proliferation of colon cancer cells and growth of colon cancer tumors. METHODS We examined the role of cathelicidin in the development of colon cancer, using subcutaneous human HT-29 colon-cancer-cell-derived...

Fibroblast activation and proliferation are important for fibroblast-myofibroblast transdifferentiation, a crucial process in the pathological changes that define renal interstitial fibrosis. The left-right determination factor (Lefty) is an important cytokine of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β family, with two variants, Lefty-1 and Lefty-2, in mice. Lefty has diverse functions, such as ...

OBJECTIVES Umbilical cord blood is a good source of the mesenchymal stem cells that can be banked, expanded and used in regenerative medicine. The objective of this study was to test whether amniotic membrane extract, as a rich source of growth factors such as basic-fibroblast growth factor, can promote the proliferation potential of the umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells. MATERIALS AND ME...

RATIONALE Fibroblasts are involved in cardiac arrhythmogenesis and contribute to the atrial fibrillation substrate in congestive heart failure (CHF) by generating tissue fibrosis. Fibroblasts display robust ion currents, but their functional importance is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE To characterize atrial fibroblast inward-rectifier K(+) current (IK1) remodeling in CHF and its effects on fib...

Skin aging, represented by wrinkles, is caused a decrease in the dermal components such as collagen, elastin, and fibroblast. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate cell-to-cell communication via cargo biomolecules cell-free manner. In previous studies, we produced mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived cargo-regulated EVs through various priming methods reported that these affect progression of dis...

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect heme synthesis inhibition on cytoglobin expression and its correlation with keloid fibroblast viability proliferation. conducted primary culture fibroblasts. Heme in fibroblasts inhibited using succinyl acetone. We measured ALAD enzyme activity a colorimetric method; mRNA qRT-PCR; protein ELISA immunocytochemistry; MTT test; proliferation BrdU tes...

Bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in hamsters is associated with collagen accumulation that results from increased lung collagen synthesis rates. However, 1-2 wk after intratracheal instillation of bleomycin, lung collagen synthesis rates decline toward control values. To evaluate the potential role of the bronchoalveolar macrophage in regulating lung collagen production, we studied the effe...