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Gene expression in fibroblasts and fibrosis: involvement in cardiac hypertrophy
Ichiro Manabe1, Takayuki Shindo, Ryozo Nagai
1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. manabe-tky@umin.ac.jp
Insights
Cardiac fibroblasts drive heart remodeling by producing extracellular matrix and signaling molecules. Understanding their transcriptional regulation is key to managing heart disease progression.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Cellular Biology
- Molecular Medicine
Background:
- Ventricular wall remodeling is critical in heart disease outcomes.
- This process involves extracellular matrix dynamics, cell turnover, and fibroblast activity.
- Cardiac fibroblasts influence remodeling through autocrine/paracrine signaling and matrix production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the functional role of cardiac fibroblasts in cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling.
- To explore the molecular mechanisms governing fibroblast activity.
- To highlight recent advances in understanding transcriptional regulation of fibroblasts.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent studies on cardiac fibroblasts.
- Analysis of molecular and cellular mechanisms in cardiac remodeling.
- Focus on transcriptional regulation in cardiac fibroblasts.
Main Results:
- Cardiac fibroblasts are central players in cardiac remodeling.
- Fibroblast-cardiomyocyte interactions are essential for remodeling progression.
- Transcriptional regulatory mechanisms are increasingly understood.
Conclusions:
- Cardiac fibroblasts significantly impact heart disease progression.
- Further research into fibroblast transcriptional control may offer therapeutic targets.
- Understanding fibroblast function is vital for managing cardiac remodeling.
Abstract:
Structural remodeling of the ventricular wall is a key determinant of clinical outcome in heart disease. Such remodeling involves the production and destruction of extracellular matrix proteins, cell proliferation and migration, and apoptotic and necrotic cell death. Cardiac fibroblasts are crucially involved in these processes, producing growth factors and cytokines that act as autocrine and paracrine factors, as well as extracellular matrix proteins and proteinases. Recent studies have shown that the interactions between cardiac fibroblasts and cardiomyocytes are essential for the progression of cardiac remodeling. This review addresses the functional role played by cardiac fibroblasts and the molecular mechanisms that govern their activity during cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling. A particular focus is the recent progress toward our understanding of the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms involved.