title: Fibroblasts have plasticity and potential utility for cell therapy.
abstract: Fibroblasts exist in the interstices of various organs as a component of connective tissue and are one of several types of somatic cells that have been well established in culture. They have been reported to undergo myogenic conversion and to induce the expression of genes associated with pluripotency. However, their own plasticity with regard to direct differentiation has scarcely been described. Here, we show that human fibroblasts are able to differentiate directly to all three germ layer derivatives. The results indicate that human dermal fibroblasts have more plasticity than has been generally thought and that fibroblasts have potential utility as a source for cell therapy.
authors.affiliation: Oral Health Science Center hrc7, Tokyo Dental College, Mihama-ku, Chiba, Japan. mosonoi@tdc.ac.jp
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osonoi
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Iwanuma
authors.forename: Akihito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy; D003094:Collagen; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000502:physiology*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005782:Gels; D006801:Humans; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D005782:Gels; D003094:Collagen