Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2000 May 25;257(1):180-9.
doi: 10.1006/excr.2000.4869.

Transforming growth factor-beta1 promotes the morphological and functional differentiation of the myofibroblast

M B Vaughan  1 , E W Howard, J J Tomasek
Affiliations

Transforming growth factor-beta1 promotes the morphological and functional differentiation of the myofibroblast

M B Vaughan et al. Exp Cell Res. .

Abstract

The myofibroblast is responsible for the generation of contractile force associated with wound contraction and pathological contractures and is characterized by the presence of alpha-smooth muscle (alpha-sm) actin-containing stress fibers, vinculin-containing fibronexus adhesion complexes, and fibronectin fibrils containing the ED-A splice variant. Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) can promote the expression of alpha-sm actin in myofibroblasts, but the functional significance of this increased expression is unclear. In this study, we demonstrate, using the stress-relaxed collagen lattice contraction assay, that TGF-beta1 promoted a dose-dependent increase in the generation of contractile force in myofibroblasts and a concomitant increase in the expression of alpha-sm actin. We also demonstrate that TGF-beta1 enhanced the formation of the structural elements important in myofibroblast contractile force generation and transmission, including stress fibers, vinculin-containing fibronexus adhesion complexes, and fibronectin fibrils, and that this enhancement occurred prior to, and independent of, alpha-sm actin expression. This differentiated myofibroblast phenotype was not stable. Removal of TGF-beta1 resulted in reduced expression of alpha-sm actin as well as a decreased assembly of stress fibers and vinculin-containing adhesion complexes; however, there was no reduction in fibronectin fibrils. We conclude that TGF-beta1 promotes the morphological and functional differentiation of the myofibroblast by first enhancing the formation of the structural elements characteristic of the myofibroblast followed by increased expression of alpha-sm actin and contractile force generation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources