Perivascular Gli1+ progenitors are key contributors to injury-induced organ fibrosis.

ABSTRACT: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reside in the perivascular niche of many organs, including kidney, lung, liver, and heart, although their roles in these tissues are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that Gli1 marks perivascular MSC-like cells that substantially contribute to organ fibrosis. In vitro, Gli1(+) cells express typical MSC markers, exhibit trilineage differentiation capacity, and possess colony-forming activity, despite constituting a small fraction of the platelet-derived growth factor-β (PDGFRβ)(+) cell population. Genetic lineage tracing analysis demonstrates that tissue-resident, but not circulating, Gli1(+) cells proliferate after kidney, lung, liver, or heart injury to generate myofibroblasts. Genetic ablation of these cells substantially ameliorates kidney and heart f

SUBMITTER: Kramann R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4289444 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature