Rapamycin Protects Against Peritendinous Fibrosis Through Activation of Autophagy.

ABSTRACT: Dysregulation of autophagy plays a pivotal role in fibrosis in multiple organs. However, the role of autophagy in peritendinous fibrosis is not well understood. Here, we hypothesize that autophagy plays a protective role in preventing adhesion formation. In a rat model of tendon injury, we observed dysregulated autophagy during excessive extracellular matrix deposition. Pharmacological induction of autophagy by rapamycin markedly alleviated the severity of peritendinous fibrosis in vivo. In NIH/3T3 fibroblasts and tenocytes, transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) markedly activated myofibroblasts and increased collagen synthesis. Addition of rapamycin activated autophagy, reduced collagen synthesis, and suppressed myofibroblast activation. In vitro experiments also showed that rapamycin de

SUBMITTER: Zheng W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5921906 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature