Latest Fibroblast Stories

The field of cell therapy, which aims to form new cells in the body in order to cure disease, has taken another important step in the development towards new treatments. A new report from researchers at Lund University in Sweden shows that it is possible to re-program other cells to become nerve cells, directly in the brain. Two years ago, researchers in Lund were the first in the world to re-program human skin cells, known as fibroblasts, to dopamine-producing nerve cells – without...

CINCINNATI, Sept. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Researchers have discovered a previously unknown function for a protein that could add to the expanding arsenal of potential new drugs for battling inflammation and tissue fibrosis in a number of disease processes. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110406/MM79025LOGO) Scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report Sept. 27 in Developmental Cell that, a protein called TRPC6 mediates a molecular...

For the first time, researchers have converted scar tissue that forms after a heart attack into regenerated heart muscle using microRNA, according to an animal study reported in Circulation Research, an American Heart Association journal. After a heart attack, heart muscle doesn't easily regenerate and it accumulates scar tissue, made up of cells called fibroblasts — increasing risk for heart failure. "Researchers have tried various approaches, including the use of stem cells, to...

Cells on the move reach forward with lamellipodia and filopodia, cytoplasmic sheets and rods supported by branched networks or tight bundles of actin filaments. Cells without functional lamellipodia are still highly motile but lose their ability to stay on track, report researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in the April 9, 2012, online issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. Their study provides new insight into cell motility, a complex and integrated process, which, when...

The latest research developments to reprogram scar tissue resulting from myocardial infarction (MI) into viable heart muscle cells, were presented at the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2012 meeting, held 30 March to 1 April at the South Kensington Campus of Imperial College in London. In a keynote lecture Dr Deepak Srivastava outlined his approach that has been described as a "game changer" with the potential to revolutionize treatment of MI. For the first time at the FCVB...

American Cancer Society-Funded Research Reveals Molecule Called Cadherin-23 Could Play a Role in the Earliest Stages of Breast Cancer Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Biologist Lee Ligon has found a previously unknown connection between breast cancer tumor cells and the surrounding healthy tissue. The results provide new information on the earliest stages of breast cancer metastasis. The results were published March 7, 2012, in the journal PLoS One, in a paper titled “ Cadherin-23...

Fibroblasts, cells that play a role in the structural framework of tissues, play an apparent role in melanoma tumor growth. Fibroblasts also contribute to melanoma drug resistance and may also facilitate the "flare" response when a tumor's metabolism is enhanced following a patient being removed from a targeted therapy, said researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla. Alexander R. Anderson, Ph.D., co-director of Integrative Mathematical Oncology at Moffitt, and Moffitt...

SHAFT™ SAN DIEGO now offers LAVIV™ (azficel-T) personalized cell therapy to treat wrinkles. San Diego, CA (PRWEB) December 28, 2011 SHAFT™ SAN DIEGO, San Diego’s premium aesthetic medicine practice providing the full range of advanced cosmetic procedures is now offering LAVIV™ (azficel-T), the first and only personalized cell therapy approved by FDA for aesthetic use. The FDA recently approved LAVIV for the improvement of the appearance of moderate to severe nasolabial fold...

After a heart attack, the portions of the heart damaged by a lack of oxygen become scar tissue. Researchers have long sought ways to avoid this scarring, which can harden the walls of the heart, lessen its ability to pump blood throughout the body and eventually lead to heart failure. But new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine shows that interrupting this process can weaken heart function even further. In a study appearing online November 15,...

Findings could pave the way for more effective tissue repair treatments Scientists have discovered how cells detect tissue damage and modify their repair properties accordingly. The findings, published today [6 October] in the journal Developmental Cell, could open up new opportunities for improving tissue repair in patients following illness or surgery. The Wellcome Trust-funded study, led by biochemists at the University of Bristol, examined the signaling process in damaged tissue...