Biology Forum Cell Biology myofibroblasts

last updated by kk 15 years ago
1 voice
1 reply
  • Author
    Posts
    • #12557
      kk
      Participant

      Is there a clear difference between fibroblasts and myofibroblasts?

      As far as I am concerned, there are certain markers to identify myofibroblasts. I am sure some cells are permanently myofibroblasts (e.g. in the mammary gland?), but can a regular fibroblast trans-differentiate to myofibroblast upon certain signals (e.g. mechanical stress)? Does a regular fibroblast have nice stress fibers with all components or only myofibroblasts have alpha-smooth muscle actin as a component of their stress fibers?

      Thank you in advance for any input. 😉

    • #96615
      kk
      Participant

      Yes, an extensive answer can be found under the link below:

      http://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9290(09)00511-9/abstract

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

Members