Fibroblast News and Research

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Fibroblasts are connective tissue cells which secrete an extracellular matrix rich in collagen and other macromolecules.

Researchers identify roles of matrix stiffness and mechanotransduction in cardiac reprogramming

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in humans. Worldwide, as the population ages, the burden of treating heart failure is increasing; opportunities for heart transplantation cannot keep pace.

31 Aug 2020

Two discoveries can lead to a new wave of more-complex organoid development

In back-to-back reports published Aug. 27, 2020, in Nature Communications, a team of scientists from Cincinnati Children's and Japan report discoveries that will be vital to a new wave of more-complex organoid development.

27 Aug 2020

New approach to combination drug design could be applied to disease therapies beyond diabetes

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have shown that the efficacy of a two-pronged type 2 diabetes treatment increases when the drugs are linked by a heat-sensitive tether rather than simply concurrently administered.

27 Aug 2020

Study could reveal brain cells and circuits that influence human health and metabolism in response to dietary changes

A new federally funded study could reveal the nervous system cells and circuits in our brains that influence our metabolism and health in response to dietary changes.

21 Aug 2020

New insights into how high-protein diet protects against fatty liver

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common chronic liver disease in the world, with sometimes life-threatening consequences.

18 Aug 2020

Powerful treatment for IPF stops dangerous scar formation in mouse lungs

A pre-clinical study led by scientists at Cincinnati Children's demonstrates that in mice the drug barasertib reverses the activation of fibroblasts that cause dangerous scar tissue to build up in the lungs of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

6 Aug 2020

Study shows how aging causes lung regeneration to go awry

Researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have identified the process by which stem cells in the airways of the lungs switch between two distinct phases -- creating more of themselves and producing mature airway cells -- to regenerate lung tissue after an injury.

28 Jul 2020

Study identifies toxicological risks of environmental pollutants in finless porpoises

A recent study just published in Environmental Science & Technology identified the toxicological risks of environmental pollutants to finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis).

20 Jul 2020

Two new studies highlight possible treatment options for patients with neuroendocrine tumors

Two new studies led by Renuka Iyer, MD, Section Chief for Gastrointestinal Oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, highlight possible new treatment options for patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) - a rare and hard-to-treat cancer.

14 Jul 2020

Researchers identify new factor that regulates the size of scar following heart injury

When a person has a heart attack, the person's coronary artery is blocked, cutting off the flow of blood and oxygen to that portion of the person's heart.

14 Jul 2020

Research identifies specific brain cells that trigger sugar consumption and cravings

New research has identified the specific brain cells that control how much sugar you eat and how much you crave sweet tasting food.

12 Jul 2020

Newly discovered endometrial cancer biomarker enables early detection and treatment

A newly discovered endometrial (uterine) cancer biomarker and diagnostic method will enable detection of the tumor type that is likely to spread and recur so that clinicians can initiate treatment early and stop the cancer from attacking other parts of the body.

3 Jul 2020

Novel treatment provides cardioprotection after heart attack in animal models

A novel treatment reduces heart damage after serious heart attacks in two animal models. Injections of two chemicals in a slow-release form significantly reduced the size of the dead heart tissue, known as the infarct, and improved the function of the left ventricle, as compared to untreated subjects.

23 Jun 2020

ACE2 and pattern recognition receptor genes increase with age

A recent study by researchers in California and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 shows that advancing age is associated with increased expression of pattern recognition receptor (PRR) genes and ACE2 receptors, possibly accounting in part for the increased severity of the disease in older adults.

17 Jun 2020

Developing lymphatic vessels in zebrafish

When an embryo develops, a wide variety of proteins and enzymes trigger a series of biochemical reactions. The development of the lymphatic vasculature is crucially dependent on one specific protein - the growth factor VEGF-C.

11 Jun 2020

Researchers explore amino acids for a new diet approach

A new diet approach that restricts essential amino acids was explored in new research by a team of international scientists from Australia, Denmark, and Germany.

11 Jun 2020

Study reveals biochemical alterations in patients with Lesch-Nyhan disease

An international study by the Institute of Neuroscience of the UAB, Emory University and Hospital Universitario La Paz, published in the PNAS journal, shows that patients suffering from Lesch-Nyhan, a rare neurological disease, present biochemical alterations in skin cells (fibroblasts), urine and cerebrospinal fluid.

4 Jun 2020

Researchers deconstruct the mechanisms that control wound healing

ETH researchers have deconstructed the mechanisms that control wound healing and scar formation in more detail.

3 Jun 2020

Spleen plays a dual role in malaria vivax

Plasmodium vivax is the most widely distributed human malaria parasite, mostly outside sub-Saharan Africa, and responsible for millions of clinical cases yearly, including severe disease and death. The mechanisms by which P. vivax causes disease are not well understood.

2 Jun 2020

NIH funding supports research on first therapeutic drug to regenerate heart tissue

With funding from the National Institutes of Health, University of Arkansas researchers hope to develop the first therapeutic drug that can regenerate heart tissue.

29 May 2020