title: B lymphocytes in renal interstitial fibrosis.
abstract: Fibrosis is defined as an excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM), which leads to the destruction of organ structure and impairment of organ function. Fibrosis occurs not only in kidney but also in lung, liver, heart, and skin. Common pathways of fibrosis are thought to exist. Renal interstitial fibrosis is a complex process that involves multiple molecular signaling and multiple cellular components, in which B cells appear to be one of the emerging important players. B cells may affect fibrosis through cytokine production and through interaction with other cells including fibroblasts, macrophages and T cells. This review summarizes recent research findings of B cells in fibrosis and provides an insight of how the future therapeutics of fibrosis could be developed from a B-cell point of view.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Fengge
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, China. xueyuan_bai@163.com.
authors.forename: Xueyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, China. xmchen301@126.com.
authors.forename: Xiangmei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: B cell; B lymphocyte; Inflammation; Renal interstitial fibrosis