The adult mammalian heart contains abundant interstitial and perivascular fibroblasts that
expand following injury and play a reparative role but also contribute to maladaptive fibrotic …

The term 'fibroblast'often serves as a catch-all for a diverse array of mesenchymal cells,
including perivascular cells, stromal progenitor cells and bona fide fibroblasts. Although …

The mechanical properties of soft tissues can often be strongly correlated with the
progression of various diseases, such as myocardial infarction (MI). However, the dynamic …

The heart contains a population of resident macrophages that markedly expands following
injury through recruitment of monocytes and through proliferation of macrophages. In …

Heart failure is a leading cause of mortality and hospitalization worldwide. Cardiac fibrosis,
resulting from the excessive deposition of collagen fibers, is a common feature across the …

Myofibroblasts cause tissue fibrosis by producing extracellular matrix proteins, such as
collagens. Humoral factors like TGF-β, and matrix stiffness are important for collagen …

Cells sense mechanical stress and changes in their matrix environment through the
integrins, a family of heterodimeric surface receptors that bind to extracellular matrix ligands …

Evidence from epidemiological studies has demonstrated that the incidence and mortality of
cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) increase year by year, which pose a great threat on social …

During cardiac development and morphogenesis, cardiac progenitor cells differentiate into
cardiomyocytes that expand in number and size to generate the fully formed heart. Much is …

The immune and fibrotic responses have evolved to work in tandem to respond to pathogen
clearance and promote tissue repair. However, excessive immune and fibrotic responses …