Small molecule-mediated inhibition of myofibroblast transdifferentiation for the treatment of fibrosis.

ABSTRACT: Fibrosis, a disease in which excessive amounts of connective tissue accumulate in response to physical damage and/or inflammatory insult, affects nearly every tissue in the body and can progress to a state of organ malfunction and death. A hallmark of fibrotic disease is the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix-secreting activated myofibroblasts (MFBs) in place of functional parenchymal cells. As such, the identification of agents that selectively inhibit the transdifferentiation process leading to the formation of MFBs represents an attractive approach for the treatment of diverse fibrosis-related diseases. Herein we report the development of a high throughput image-based screen using primary hepatic stellate cells that identified the antifungal drug itraconazole (ITA) as an inh

SUBMITTER: Bollong MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5422806 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature