Recent research has greatly increased our knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms of collagen synthesis and processing. Heat specific shock protein (HSP47) is a collagen-specific molecular chaperone, and helps in post-translational modifications of procollagens, during biosynthesis of collagen. Both in vivo and in vitro studies have convincingly demonstrated that HSP47 is localized in the endoplasmic reticulum of collagen-producing cells, and that its synthesis is closely associated with the rate of procollagen assembly. Recent studies are directed towards the pathological relevance of HSP47 in tissue scarring, a process that is characterized by excessive accumulation of collagens. It appears likely that increased levels of HSP47 in fibrotic diseases assist in increased assembly of procollagen, and thereby help in excessive accumulation of collagens in the fibrotic mass. Such profibrotic effects of HSP47 suggest that modulation of HSP47 expression in scarring diseases might alter the course of fibrotic diseases. In this brief article, we review the role of HSP47 in renal fibrotic diseases and its relevance to other scarring diseases.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000086043 | DOI Listing |
Cell Death Discov
January 2025
Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen & Longgang District People's Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518172, China.
Intestinal fibrosis, as a late-stage complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), leads to bowel obstruction and requires surgical intervention, significantly lowering the quality of life of affected patients. SAA3, a highly conserved member of the serum amyloid A (SAA) apolipoprotein family in mice, is synthesized primarily as an acute phase reactant in response to infection, inflammation and trauma. An increasing number of evidence suggests that SAA3 exerts a vital role in the fibrotic process, even though the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully comprehended.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Biosci (Landmark Ed)
January 2025
Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi, China.
Background: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), which is caused mainly by Group A Streptococcus, leads to fibrotic damage to heart valves. Recently, endothelial‒mesenchymal transition (EndMT), in which activin plays an important role, has been shown to be an important factor in RHD valvular injury. However, the mechanism of activin activity and EndMT in RHD valvular injury is not clear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmaceutics
December 2024
Department of Pharmaceutics, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
Liver fibrosis, a hallmark of chronic liver diseases, is characterized by excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and scar tissue formation. Current antifibrotic nanomedicines face significant limitations, including poor penetration into fibrotic tissue, rapid clearance, and suboptimal therapeutic efficacy. The dense fibrotic ECM acts as a major physiological barrier, necessitating the development of a targeted delivery strategy to achieve effective therapeutic outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Med
January 2025
2nd Pulmonary Department, General University Hospital "Attikon", Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece.
: Long-term lung sequelae in severe COVID-19 survivors, as well as their treatment, are poorly described in the current literature. : To investigate lung fibrotic sequelae in survivors of severe/critical COVID-19 pneumonia and their fate according to a "non-interventional" approach. : Prospective study of the above COVID-19 survivors after hospital discharge from March 2020 to October 2022.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
January 2025
Cardiometabolic and Renal Risk Research Group, INCLIVA Biomedical Research Institute, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
Several microRNAs (miRNAs) emerged as powerful regulators of fibrotic processes, "fibromiRs", and can also influence the expression of genes responsible for the generation of reactive oxygen species, "redoximiRs". We aimed to investigate whether plasma exosomes from hypertensive and diabetes patients are enriched in fibromiRs and redoximiRs using deep sequencing technology and their association with relevant signalling pathways implicated in oxidative stress and fibrogenesis by GO terms and KEGG pathways. RNA-Seq analysis from P-EXO identified 31 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs in patients compared to controls, of which 77% are biofluid specific.
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