title: Spatial orientation of microtubules in contractile fibroblasts in vivo.
abstract: Contracting fibrous tissues from skin wounds in pigs, and scars around silicone implants in humans, contained fibroblasts that had multiple bundles of 60--80 A microfilaments with electron-dense bodies, features typical of contractile fibroblasts both in vivo (myofibroblasts) and in vitro. These in vivo fibroblasts contained many 220 A diameter microtubules, which paralleled plasma membrane in these myofibroblasts strongly suggests a bracing or scaffolding function.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D008870:Microtubules / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013552:Swine; D014945:Wound Healing