title: The myofibroblast in wound healing and fibrocontractive diseases.
abstract: The demonstration that fibroblastic cells acquire contractile features during the healing of an open wound, thus modulating into myofibroblasts, has open a new perspective in the understanding of mechanisms leading to wound closure and fibrocontractive diseases. Myofibroblasts synthesize extracellular matrix components such as collagen types I and III and during normal wound healing disappear by apoptosis when epithelialization occurs. The transition from fibroblasts to myofibroblasts is influenced by mechanical stress, TGF-beta and cellular fibronectin (ED-A splice variant). These factors also play important roles in the development of fibrocontractive changes, such as those observed in liver cirrhosis, renal fibrosis, and stroma reaction to epithelial tumours.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, CMU University of Geneva, 1 rue Michel-Servet, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland. giulio.gabbiani@medicine.unige.ch
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gabbiani
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D016023:Integrins / Q000378:metabolism*; D032446:Myoblasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D016023:Integrins; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta