title: [Origin of epithelioid cells in sarcoid granuloma].
abstract: Sarcoid epithelioid cells are believed to be a variant of tissue macrophages, which are derived from circulating monocytes in blood. Formation of monocytes and macrophages are controlled by hematopoietic growth factors, i.e.; colony-stimulating factors in the bone marrow. In the presence of colony-stimulating factors and/or vitamin D3, blood monocytes can proliferate and differentiate into epithelioid cells and multinucleated giant cells. Recent observations that sarcoid granulomas themselves produce colony-stimulating factors and vitamin D3 suggest vitamin D3 and colony-stimulating factors produced by sarcoid granulomas stimulate the proliferation and differentiation of circulating monocytes into macrophage-epithelioid cells, which form new sarcoid granulomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo.
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okabe
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002455:Cell Division; D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000502:physiology; D003115:Colony-Stimulating Factors / Q000502:physiology; D015622:Epithelioid Cells / Q000473:pathology; D006099:Granuloma / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009000:Monocytes / Q000166:cytology; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000378:metabolism; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D003115:Colony-Stimulating Factors; D002762:Cholecalciferol; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A