Department of Medicine, Division of Molecular Cardiology, Texas A&M Health Center, Temple, Texas 76504, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010 Feb;1188:143-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05094.x.
In the heart, electrical, mechanical, and chemical signals create an environment essential for normal cellular responses to developmental and pathologic cues. Communication between fibroblasts, myocytes, and endothelial cells, as well as the extracellular matrix, are critical to fluctuations in heart composition and function during normal development and pathology. Recent evidence suggests that cytokines play a role in cell-cell signaling in the heart. Indeed, we find that interactions between myocytes and cardiac fibroblasts results in increased interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha secretion. We also used confocal and transmission electron microscopy to observe close relationships and possible direct communication between these cells in vivo. Our results highlight the importance of direct cell-cell communication in the heart, and indicate that interactions between fibroblasts, myocytes, and capillary endothelium results in differential cytokine expression. Studying these cell-cell interactions has many implications for the process of cardiac remodeling and overall heart function during development and cardiopathology.
在心脏中，电、机械和化学信号创造了一个对于正常细胞对发育和病理信号的反应至关重要的环境。成纤维细胞、心肌细胞和内皮细胞之间的通讯以及细胞外基质对于心脏在正常发育和病理过程中组成和功能的波动至关重要。最近的证据表明细胞因子在心脏中的细胞间信号传递中发挥作用。事实上，我们发现心肌细胞和心脏成纤维细胞之间的相互作用导致白细胞介素-6 和肿瘤坏死因子-α 的分泌增加。我们还使用共聚焦和透射电子显微镜观察到这些细胞在体内的密切关系和可能的直接通讯。我们的结果强调了心脏中直接细胞间通讯的重要性，并表明成纤维细胞、心肌细胞和毛细血管内皮细胞之间的相互作用导致细胞因子表达的差异。研究这些细胞间相互作用对于心脏重塑过程以及心脏在发育和心脏病理过程中的整体功能具有重要意义。
