IMR Press / FBS / Volume 1 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.2741/S22

Frontiers in Bioscience-Scholar (FBS) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 1 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Transforming growth factor-beta in systemic sclerosis (scleroderma)
Show Less
1 Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago IL, USA
2 Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Schol Ed) 2009, 1(1), 226–235; https://doi.org/10.2741/S22
Published: 1 June 2009
Abstract

Deregulated transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) activity and responses play prominent roles in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc), a chronic and progressive connective tissue disease characterized by fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Systemic sclerosis has highly heterogeneous clinical manifestations, and patients can be classified into multiple subgroups on the basis of distinct molecular signatures defined by transcriptional profiling of gene expression in target organs. Current research to uncover how TGF-beta regulates fibroblast function opens the door for the discovery of targeted therapies. Anti-fibrotic treatments that selectively block TGF-ß expression, biological activity or intracellular signaling in SSc are currently under development.

Share
Back to top