Myofibroblasts and local angiotensin II in rat cardiac tissue repair
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Weber, Karl T.; Sun, Yao; Katwa, Laxmansa C.
- Source
- The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology; 1997, Vol. 29 Issue: 1 p31-42, 12p
- Subject
- Language
- ISSN
- 13572725
Tissue repair is a fundamental property of vascularized tissue. At sites of injury, phenotypically transformed fibroblast-like cells are responsible for fibrous tissue formation, expressed principally as type I and III fibrillar collagens. These cells are termed myofibroblasts because they contain α-smooth muscle actin microfilaments and are contractile. In vivo studies of injured rat cardiac tissues and in vitro cell culture studies have shown that such fibroblast-like cells contain requisite components for angiotensin peptide generation and angiotensin II receptors. Such locally generated angiotensin II acts in an autocrine/paracrine manner to regulate collagen turnover and thereby tissue homeostasis in injured tissue.