Numerous physiological and pathological stimuli promote the rearrangement of the actin
cytoskeleton, thereby modulating cellular motile functions. Although it seems intuitively …

Tissue integrity is maintained by the stroma in physiology. In cancer, however, tissue
invasion is driven by the stroma. Myofibroblasts and cancer‐associated fibroblasts are …

The platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) signaling pathway is a critical regulator of animal
development and homeostasis. Activation of the PDGF pathway leads to neointimal …

Myocardin (MYOCD) is a potent transcriptional coactivator that functions primarily in cardiac
muscle and smooth muscle through direct contacts with serum response factor (SRF) over …

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) transplantation has been shown to decrease fibrosis in the
heart; however, whether MSC directly influence the function of cardiac fibroblasts (CFB) …

Background The tumor suppressor p53 is an important regulator that controls various
cellular networks, including cell differentiation. Interestingly, some studies suggest that p53 …

MicroRNA 143/145 (miR143/145) is restricted to adult smooth muscle cell (SMC) lineages
and mediates, in part, the expression of several SMC contractile genes. Although the …

Cumulative evidence shows that fibrogenic stroma and stiff extracellular matrix (ECM) not
only result from tumor growth but also play pivotal roles in cellular transformation and tumor …

Objective—Myocardin is a cardiac-and smooth muscle–specific transcription co-factor that
potently activates the expression of downstream target genes. Previously, we demonstrated …

Background—Myocardin (Myocd) is a strong coactivator that binds the serum response
factor (SRF) transcription factor over CArG elements embedded within smooth muscle cell …