title: Fibroblasts as maestros orchestrating tissue regeneration.
abstract: Fibroblasts constitute a dynamic and versatile population of cells of mesenchymal origin, implicated in both regenerative strategies and pathological conditions. Despite being frequently associated to disease development, particularly through the establishment of fibrotic tissue, fibroblasts hold great potential for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. They are responsible for synthesizing and depositing extracellular matrix components, allowing other cells to settle and migrate along a three-dimensional support and thereby generating an organ-specific architecture. Additionally, they produce bioactive molecules that are involved in several physiological processes, including angiogenesis and tissue repair. Although there seems to be much still to unveil about these fascinating cells they have been attracting increasing interest and are now being intensively explored as a cell source to develop bioengineered tissue constructs or to improve stem cell-based technologies. This review intends to highlight the potential of fibroblasts in orchestrating tissue regeneration, as well as to contribute to uncover uncharted prospective applications of these cells. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Alameda Professor Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319, Porto, Portugal.|Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal.|INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Costa-Almeida
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Alameda Professor Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319, Porto, Portugal.|i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal.|INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.|i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal.|ICBAS - Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Granja
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D009928:Organ Specificity; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering
keywords: Cell communication; Cell therapies; Extracellular matrix; Fibroblasts; Stem cells; Tissue Engineering