Saneyasu Takaoki, Akhtar Riaz, Sakai Takao
MRC Centre for Drug Safety Science, Department of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GE, UK.
Centre for Materials and Structures, School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GE, UK.
Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:2646212. doi: 10.1155/2016/2646212. Epub 2016 Oct 9.
Tissue and matrix stiffness affect cell properties during morphogenesis, cell growth, differentiation, and migration and are altered in the tissue remodeling following injury and the pathological progression. However, detailed molecular mechanisms underlying alterations of stiffness are still poorly understood. Recent engineering technologies have developed powerful techniques to characterize the mechanical properties of cell and matrix at nanoscale levels. Extracellular matrix (ECM) influences mechanical tension and activation of pathogenic signaling during the development of chronic fibrotic diseases. In this short review, we will focus on the present knowledge of the mechanisms of how ECM stiffness is regulated during the development of liver fibrosis and the molecules involved in ECM stiffness as a potential therapeutic target for liver fibrosis.
组织和基质硬度在形态发生、细胞生长、分化和迁移过程中影响细胞特性，并且在损伤后的组织重塑和病理进展中发生改变。然而，硬度改变背后的详细分子机制仍知之甚少。最近的工程技术已经开发出强大的技术来表征细胞和基质在纳米尺度水平的力学性能。细胞外基质（ECM）在慢性纤维化疾病发展过程中影响机械张力和致病信号的激活。在这篇简短的综述中，我们将聚焦于目前关于肝纤维化发展过程中ECM硬度如何被调节的机制以及参与ECM硬度调节的分子的知识，这些分子可作为肝纤维化的潜在治疗靶点。
