title: TGF-beta in the pathogenesis and prevention of disease: a matter of aneurysmic proportions.
abstract: TGF-beta regulates many aspects of cellular performance relevant to tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis. Postnatal perturbation of TGF-beta signaling contributes to the pathogenesis of many disease states, as recently exemplified through the study of Marfan syndrome (MFS), including aortic aneurysm and skeletal muscle myopathy. Heterogeneity in the regulation and consequences of TGF-beta signaling, amplified in the context of disease, has engendered confusion and controversy regarding its utility as a therapeutic target. Three studies recently published in the JCI, including one in this issue, underscore the complexity of this subject. Heydemann and colleagues implicate dimorphic variation in latent TGF-beta-binding protein 4 (LTBP4), a regulator of TGF-beta bioavailability and activation, as a modifier of muscular dystrophy in gamma-sarcoglycan-deficient mice. In contrast to experience with ascending aortic aneurysm in MFS, Wang and colleagues show that systemic abrogation of TGF-beta signaling worsens (rather than attenuates) Ang II-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm progression in mice. Tieu and colleagues define alterations in the regulation of vascular inflammation in the pathogenesis of Ang II-induced aneurysm and dissection in mice, which may help shed some light on this apparent paradox.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetic Medicine and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. hdietz@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Harry C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Dietz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D053779:Latent TGF-beta Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008382:Marfan Syndrome / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051379:Mice; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C509040:LTBP4 protein, human; D053779:Latent TGF-beta Binding Proteins; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta