Host predisposition by endogenous Transforming Growth Factor-beta1 overexpression promotes pulmonary fibrosis following bleomycin injury.

Background: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive diffuse disease involving the lung parenchyma. Despite recent advances, the molecular mechanisms of the initiation and progression of this disease remain elusive. Previous studies have demonstrated TGFbeta1 as a key effector cytokine in the development of lung fibrosis.

Animal models for adult dermal wound healing.

Wound healing in adult mammals proceeds by a series of overlapping highly coordinated events. Dermal wound repair commences with the arrest of hemorrhage followed by an inflammatory response, re-epithelialization of the wound, and formation of granulation tissue within the wound space, culminating in the production of a scar. In order to study the processes involved in the repair of wounded tissue, we have developed a rodent model utilizing full thickness incisional and excisional dermal wounds, which allow for macroscopic observations and also provide tissue for the histological and immunocytochemical analysis of acute wounds and scarring.