Identification of Periostin as a critical niche for myofibroblast dynamics and fibrosis during tendon healing.

ABSTRACT: Tendon injuries are a major clinical problem, with poor patient outcomes caused by abundant scar tissue deposition during healing. Myofibroblasts play a critical role in the initial restoration of structural integrity after injury. However, persistent myofibroblast activity drives the transition to fibrotic scar tissue formation. As such, disrupting myofibroblast persistence is a key therapeutic target. While myofibroblasts are typically defined by the presence of αSMA+ stress fibers, αSMA is expressed in other cell types including the vasculature. As such, modulation of myofibroblast dynamics via disruption of αSMA expression is not a translationally tenable approach. Recent work has demonstrated that Periostin-lineage (Postn^Lin) cells are a precursor for cardiac fibrosis-assoc

SUBMITTER: Ackerman JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10370208 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature