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Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

2022

Fibrosis

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Full-Text Articles in Medical Sciences

The Pro-Fibrotic Response To Lens Injury Is Signaled In A Pi3k Isoform-Specific Manner, A. Sue Menko, Janice L. Walker Aug 2022

The Pro-Fibrotic Response To Lens Injury Is Signaled In A Pi3k Isoform-Specific Manner, A. Sue Menko, Janice L. Walker

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

The signaling inputs that function to integrate biochemical and mechanical cues from the extracellular environment to alter the wound-repair outcome to a fibrotic response remain poorly understood. Here, using a clinically relevant post-cataract surgery wound healing/fibrosis model, we investigated the role of Phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) class I isoforms as potential signaling integrators to promote the proliferation, emergence and persistence of collagen I-producing alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA+) myofibroblasts that cause organ fibrosis. Using PI3K isoform specific small molecule inhibitors, our studies revealed a requisite role for PI3K p110α in signaling the CD44+ mesenchymal leader cell population that we previously identified as …


The Pro-Fibrotic Response Of Mesenchymal Leader Cells To Lens Wounding Involves Hyaluronic Acid, Its Receptor Rhamm, And Vimentin, A. Sue Menko, Alison Romisher, Janice L Walker Mar 2022

The Pro-Fibrotic Response Of Mesenchymal Leader Cells To Lens Wounding Involves Hyaluronic Acid, Its Receptor Rhamm, And Vimentin, A. Sue Menko, Alison Romisher, Janice L Walker

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Hyaluronic Acid/Hyaluronan (HA) is a major component of the provisional matrix deposited by cells post-wounding with roles both in regulating cell migration to repair a wound and in promoting a fibrotic outcome to wounding. Both are mediated through its receptors CD44 and RHAMM. We now showed that HA is present in the provisional matrix assembled on the substrate surface in a lens post-cataract surgery explant wound model in which mesenchymal leader cells populate the wound edges to direct migration of the lens epithelium across the adjacent culture substrate onto which this matrix is assembled. Inhibiting HA expression with 4-MU blocked …