title: Is angiotensin II a proliferative factor of cardiac fibroblasts?
abstract: Angiotensin II has been implicated as an important factor in cardiac remodeling, particularly in the development of pathological left ventricular hypertrophy. It is generally assumed that angiotensin II is able to alter the phenotype of cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts, and several experiments have suggested that this peptide can particularly affect the proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts. However, a review of the published results indicates that there is no evidence that angiotensin II can directly trigger mitogenesis through activation of the cyclin-dependent pathway. The observed proliferative effect might well be caused by stimulation of the synthesis of growth or inflammatory substances like platelet-derived growth factor and cytokines, by integrin activation due to secreted extracellular matrix proteins, or by a combination of these mechanisms. Angiotensin II thus appears to differentiate cardiac fibroblasts into a growth substance-secreting phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cell Biology of Hypertension, Multidisciplinary Research Group in Hypertension, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), 110 Pine Avenue West, Montréal, Québec, Canada H2W 1R7.
authors.forename: Fatiha
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bouzegrhane
authors.forename: Gaétan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thibault
mesh_terms: D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000473:pathology*; D023421:Models, Animal; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling
chemical_list: D006133:Growth Substances; D000804:Angiotensin II