fibroblast growth factor

OBJECTIVE: Suture mesenchymal stem cells (SuSCs), possessing self-renewal and multilineage differentiation abilities, play a crucial role in cranial bone growth. However, the impact of the disease-causing fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) mutation on SuSCs in Crouzon syndrome has not been explored. This study aims to employ a lentivirus to overexpress Fgfr2 and investigate its role in the pathogenesis of Crouzon syndrome. METHODS: Starting with the prevalent FGFR2 mutation site in patients with Crouzon syndrome, a lentiviral vector carrying the Fgfr2...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a hormone to reduce blood phosphate concentration. Excessive actions of FGF23 induce FGF23-related hypophosphatemic disorders, such as X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH) and tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO). We will summarize recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of FGF23-related hypophosphatemic disorders. RECENT FINDINGS: The measurement of blood FGF23 is useful to make a diagnosis of FGF23-related hypophosphatemic disorders...

Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have great therapeutic potential. The cell source differentiated from hiPSCs requires xeno-free and robust methods for lineage-specific differentiation. Here, a system is described for differentiating hiPSCs on new generation laminin fragments (NGLFs), a recombinant form of a laminin E8 fragment conjugated to the heparan sulfate chains (HS) attachment domain of perlecan. Using NGLFs, hiPSCs are highly promoted to direct differentiation into a paraxial mesoderm state with high-efficiency muscle lineage generation...

Cardiac fibrosis contributes to the development of heart failure, and is the response of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) to pressure or volume overload. Limiting factors in CFs research are the poor availability of human cells and the tendency of CFs to transdifferentiate into myofibroblasts when cultured in vitro. The possibility to generate CFs from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), providing a nearly unlimited cell source, opens new possibilities. However, the behaviour of iPSC-CFs under mechanical stimulation has not been studied yet...

Giant cell arteritis (GCA), the most common systemic vasculitis, is characterised by aberrant interactions between infiltrating and resident cells of the vessel wall. Ageing and breach of tolerance are prerequisites for GCA development, resulting in dendritic and T-cell dysfunction. Inflammatory cytokines polarise T-cells, activate resident macrophages and synergistically enhance vascular inflammation, providing a loop of autoreactivity. These events originate in the adventitia, commonly regarded as the biological epicentre of the vessel wall, with additional recruitment of cells that infiltrate and migrate towards the intima...

Excessive wound healing in filtering glaucoma surgery is a key factor for a failed surgery. After the introduction of trabeculectomy in the 1960s many factors associated with an increased fibrotic reaction were recognized and methods were developed to influence postoperative wound healing. These range from the perioperative use of anti-inflammatory drugs and antimetabolites to the use of newer chemical compounds that influence the morphology of postoperative fibroblast growth. In the routine clinical practice, the fine tuning of therapeutic decisions plays a decisive role in the success or failure of filtration surgery...

OBJECTIVES: This study undertook a scoping review of research on blood fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) concentrations in healthy non-azotemic cats and cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) to describe the volume and nature of existing literature, to determine whether published studies provide adequate evidence to support the use of FGF-23 as a biomarker in clinical practice and to identify any existing gaps in knowledge. METHODS: PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines were used to design and perform the scoping review...

Breast cancer metastasis is responsible for most breast cancer-related deaths and is influenced by many factors within the tumor ecosystem, including tumor cells and microenvironment. Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) constitute a small population of cancer cells with unique characteristics, including their capacity for self-renewal and differentiation. Studies have shown that BCSCs not only drive tumorigenesis but also play a crucial role in promoting metastasis in breast cancer. The tumor microenvironment (TME), composed of stromal cells, immune cells, blood vessel cells, fibroblasts, and microbes in proximity to cancer cells, is increasingly recognized for its crosstalk with BCSCs and role in BCSC survival, growth, and dissemination, thereby influencing metastatic ability...

Pericytes, a specific type of mesenchymal cell that surround the basement membrane of pulmonary venules and capillaries. They are crucial pathological features observed in individuals with the severe lung disease of pulmonary fibrosis (PF). The presence of pericytes leads to inflammation and fibrosis in the lung interstitium and alveolar space due to the release of various cytokines and chemokines. Pericytes also stimulate the proliferation and activation of fibroblasts, thereby promoting the progression of PF...

Fibroblasts in the skin are highly heterogeneous, both in vivo and in vitro. One difference between follicular (dermal papilla fibroblasts [DP]) and interfollicular fibroblasts (papillary fibroblasts [PFi]) in vitro is their ability to differentiate in response to osteogenic media (OM), or mechanical stimulation. Here, we asked whether differences in the ability of DP and PFi to respond to differentiation stimuli are due to differences in chromatin accessibility. We performed chromatin accessibility and transcriptional profiling of DP and PFi in human skin, which arise from a common progenitor during development, yet display distinct characteristics in adult tissue and in vitro...

The prevailing desmoplastic stroma and immunosuppressive microenvironment within pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) pose substantial challenges to therapeutic intervention. Despite the potential of protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitors in mitigating the desmoplastic stromal response and enhancing the immune milieu, their efficacy is curtailed by suboptimal pharmacokinetics (PK) and insufficient tumor penetration. To surmount these hurdles, we have pioneered a novel strategy, employing lipid bilayer-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (termed "silicasomes") as a carrier for the delivery of Nintedanib...

In the present narrative review, we have summarized evidence on the pharmacological treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). We start by reviewing the epidemiology of the condition and its close association with obesity and type 2 diabetes. We then discuss how randomized-controlled trials are performed following guidance from regulatory agencies, including differences and similarities between requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicine Agency...

Fibroblasts are ubiquitous cells that can adopt many functional states. As tissue-resident sentinels, they respond to acute damage signals and shape the earliest events in fibrotic and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Upon sensing an insult, fibroblasts produce chemokines and growth factors to organize and support the response. Depending on the size and composition of the resulting infiltrate, these activated fibroblasts may also begin to contract or relax thus changing local stiffness within the tissue...

INTRODUCTION: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has emerged as an important outcome measure inpatients with CKD. The lack of prospective studies on HRQoL and its relation with hyperphosphatemia control measures among pre-dialysis patients necessitated the need for this study. METHODS: This is a prospective, randomized, controlled, open-labelled studythat was conducted for one year on 120 CKD stages III and IV patients divided equally into three groups: Group 1, in which patients under went dietary phosphorus modification; Group 2, in which they were administered calcium-based phosphate binders; and Group 3, in which they were administered non-calcium-based phosphate binders...

The previous study on the injection of SVFs in combination with PRP showed positive effect on the healing of deep dermal burns. We now seek to understand the effect on full thickness burns, as assessed by changes in serum FGF2, IGF1, epithelialization, and fibroblast count. Forty-eight Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: (1) rats with full thickness burns given a local injection of combined SVFs and PRP; (2) rats with burns given topical Vaseline; (3) rats with burns given a local injection of placebo; and (4) rats without burns...

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has reached epidemic proportions globally in parallel to the rising prevalence of obesity. Despite its significant burden, there is no approved pharmacotherapy specifically tailored for this disease. Many potential drug candidates for MAFLD have encountered setbacks in clinical trials, due to safety concerns or/and insufficient therapeutic efficacy. Nonetheless, several investigational drugs that mimic the actions of endogenous metabolic hormones, including thyroid hormone receptor β (THRβ) agonists, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) analogues, and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), showed promising therapeutic efficacy and excellent safety profiles...

Our previous study on how the combination of stromal vascular fraction cells (SVFs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) affect deep dermal burn healing showed promising results. In this study, we assessed the effect on full-thickness burns by evaluating FGF7 serum level and capillary count. Forty-eight Wistar rats were divided into four major groups: (1) locally injected with combined SVFs and PRP; (2) topically applied Vaseline; (3) locally injected with placebo; (4) and rats without burns. These groups were divided further into smaller groups based on the day of euthanasia (8th hour, 4th day, 7th day, 14th day, and 21st day)...

Narrow clawed crayfish, Pontastacus (Astacus) leptodactylus, represents an ecologically and economically valuable freshwater species. Despite the high importance of artificial breeding for conservation purpose and aquaculture potential, hatching protocols have not been developed so far in this species. Further, limited knowledge exists regarding the artificial egg incubation, the temperature effect on embryonic development, hatching synchronization and hatching rate. In the present study we investigated the temperature increase (from 17 o C to 22o C) effects in two different embryonic developmental stages of P...

OBJECTIVE: Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is the most common aberration of forebrain development, and it leads to a wide spectrum of developmental and craniofacial anomalies. HPE etiology is highly heterogeneous and includes both chromosomal abnormalities and single-gene defects. METHODS: Here, we report an FGFR1 heterozygous variant detected by prenatal exome sequencing and inherited from the asymptomatic mother, in association with recurrent neurological abnormalities in the HPE spectrum in two consecutive pregnancies...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Because of the absence of effective therapies for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), there is a rising interest in fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) analogues due to their potential anti-fibrotic activities in MASH treatment. PsTag-FGF21, a long-acting FGF21 analogue, has demonstrated promising therapeutic effects in several MASH mouse models. However, its efficacy and mechanism against MASH-related fibrosis remain less well defined, compared with the specific mechanisms through which FGF21 improves glucose and lipid metabolism...