IMR Press / FBS / Volume 1 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.2741/S32

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
TGF beta in fibroproliferative diseases in the eye
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1 Department of Ophthalmology, Wakayama Medical University, 811-1 Kimiidera, Wakayama, 641-0012, Japan
2 Department of Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka City University, 1-4-3, Asahimachi, Abeno, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

 

Front. Biosci. (Schol Ed) 2009, 1(1), 376–390; https://doi.org/10.2741/S32
Published: 1 June 2009
Abstract

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is believed to be the most important ligand in the pathogenesis of fibrotic diseases in the eye. Such ocular fibrotic diseases include scarring in the cornea and conjunctiva, fibrosis in the corneal endothelium, post-cataract surgery fibrosis of the lens capsule, excess scarring the tissue around the extraocular muscles in the strabismus surgery and proliferative vitreoretinopathy. In the proliferative stage of diabetic retinopathy, fibrogenic reaction causes tractional retinal detachment in association with contraction of the tissue. A myofibroblast, the major cellular component in the fibrotic lesions, is derived from both mesenchymal cells (in cornea and conjunctiva) and epithelial cell types (lens or retinal pigment epithelium or corneal endothelium) through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The myofibroblasts cause excess accumulation of fibrogenic extracellular matrix with resultant tissue contraction and impaired functions. Although various cytokine signaling pathways are involved in the fibrogenic reaction in tissues, TGFβ/Smad signal is the critical one. Blocking Smad signal by chemical or natural inhibitors or anti-Smad gene introduction effectively suppress fibrogenic reaction; inhibition of both fibroblast-myofibroblast conversion or EMT. Such strategies can be clinically tested.

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