Capillary regeneration in scleroderma: stem cell therapy reverses phenotype?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease with a characteristic vascular pathology. The vasculopathy associated with scleroderma is one of the major contributors to the clinical manifestations of the disease.

Methodology/principal findings

We used immunohistochemical and mRNA in situ hybridization techniques to characterize this vasculopathy and showed with morphometry that scleroderma has true capillary rarefaction. We compared skin biopsies from 23 scleroderma patients and 24 normal controls and 7 scleroderma patients who had undergone high dose immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous hematopoietic cell transplant. Along with the loss of capillaries there was a dramatic change in endothelial phenotype in the residual vessels. The molecules defining this phen

SUBMITTER: Fleming JN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2175530 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature