title: Reversal of myofibroblast differentiation: a review.
abstract: It has long been considered that fibrosis and fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation are irreversible processes. However, recent data obtained indicates that tissue fibrosis and fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation can indeed be reversed, which offers the possibility of a new therapeutic approach for fibrotic disorders. Here, we discuss the origin of the myofibroblasts and different aspects of their differentiation, especially the key mediators and TGFβ-induced signaling pathways. We also report here a few factors involved in myofiroblast dedifferentiation and several compounds which can reverse the established dedifferentiated myofibroblast, as examples that provide the reader a glimpse of the current trends of approach for discovering useful anti-fibrotic drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Third Military Medical University, Gaotanyan Street 30, Shapingba District, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: XiaoHong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Third Military Medical University, Gaotanyan Street 30, Shapingba District, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Third Military Medical University, Gaotanyan Street 30, Shapingba District, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Third Military Medical University, Gaotanyan Street 30, Shapingba District, Chongqing 400038, China. Electronic address: pharsunr@126.com.
authors.forename: XiaoHong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D054337:Cell Dedifferentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D058628:Myofibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Capsaicin (PubChem CID: 1548943); Dedifferentiation; Drugs; Mediators; Molecular mechanisms; Myofibroblast differentiation; S-Nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (PubChem CID: 10313479)