Home > F. Pathology by regions > Soft tissues > fibroblasts
fibroblasts
Thursday 27 November 2003
Adj. fibroblastic
Fibroblasts are a type of cell found in all tissues of the body. They help to maintain the structural integrity of connective tissues by secreting the protein collagen and other components of the material that comprises the extracellular matrix, which provides support for neighbouring cells.
Features
CD34+ fibroblasts
plasticity of fibroblasts
- phenotypic plasticity of fibroblasts
Pathology
- Despite their crucial role in maintaining a healthy tissue architecture, it is becoming increasingly clear that fibroblasts can also contribute to inflammation and tissue injury in a variety of autoimmune diseases.
- For example, rheumatoid arthritis is a condition characterized by persistent inflammation, bone erosion and the destruction of cartilage in the joints. Croft et al. report evidence indicating that the progression of rheumatoid arthritis is driven by two populations of fibroblast that have distinct gene-expression profiles. doi : 10.1038/d41586-019-01594-9
fibroblastic sarcomas
- myofibrosarcoma sarcoma
- fibrosaromas
- infantile fibrosarcoma
- adult-type fibrosarcoma ( adult fibrosarcoma )
References
Neumann E, Gay RE, Gay S, Muller-Ladner U. Functional genomics of fibroblasts. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2004 May;16(3):238-45. PMID: 15103251
Grinnell F. Fibroblast biology in three-dimensional collagen matrices. Trends Cell Biol. 2003 May;13(5):264-9. PMID: 12742170
Grinnell F. Fibroblast-collagen-matrix contraction: growth-factor signalling and mechanical loading. Trends Cell Biol. 2000 Sep;10(9):362-5. PMID: 10932093