Basic Signaling in Cardiac Fibroblasts.
Cardiac fibroblasts are commonly known as supporting cells of the cardiac network and exert many essential functions that are fundamental for normal cardiac growth as well as for cardiac remodeling process during pathological conditions. This review focuses on the roles of cardiac fibroblasts in the formation and regulation of the extracellular matrix components, and in maintaining structural, biochemical and mechanical properties of the heart. Additionally, though considered as non-excitable cells, we review the functional expression in cardiac fibroblasts of a wide variety of transmembrane ion channels which activity may contribute to key regulation of cardiac physiological processes. All together, cardiac fibroblasts which actively participate to fundamental regulation of cardiac physiology and physiopathology processes may represent pertinent targets for pharmacological approaches of cardiac diseases and lead to new tracks of therapeutic strategies. J. Cell. Physiol. 232: 725-730, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Laboratoire Signalisation et Transports Ioniques Membranaires (STIM), Université de Poitiers, CNRS, Poitiers, France.|Laboratoire de recherche en Physiologie et Physiopathologie (LRPP), pôle technologie santé, Faculté de Médecine, Université Saint Joseph, Beyrouth, Liban.
Stéphanie
S
Chacar
Laboratoire de recherche en Physiologie et Physiopathologie (LRPP), pôle technologie santé, Faculté de Médecine, Université Saint Joseph, Beyrouth, Liban.
Nassim
N
Farès
Laboratoire Signalisation et Transports Ioniques Membranaires (STIM), Université de Poitiers, CNRS, Poitiers, France.
Patrick
P
Bois
Laboratoire Signalisation et Transports Ioniques Membranaires (STIM), Université de Poitiers, CNRS, Poitiers, France.
Jean-François
JF
Faivre
D000818:Animals; D048430:Cell Shape; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005355:Fibrosis; D006801:Humans; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology*; D015398:Signal Transduction