Fibrosis is associated with organ failure and high mortality and is commonly characterized by aberrant myofibroblast accumulation. Investigating the cellular origin of myofibroblasts in various diseases is thus a promising strategy for developing targeted anti-fibrotic treatments. Recent studies using genetic lineage tracing technology have implicated diverse organ-resident perivascular mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-like cells and bone marrow-MSCs in myofibroblast generation during fibrosis development. In this Review, we give an overview of the emerging role of MSCs and MSC-like cells in myofibroblast-mediated fibrotic disease in the kidney, lung, heart, liver, skin, and bone marrow. Fibrosis is associated with organ failure and is characterized by aberrant myofibroblast accumulation; thus, investigating the cellular origin of myofibroblasts is a promising therapeutic strategy. Here we discuss the emerging role of MSCs and MSC-like cells in myofibroblast-mediated fibrotic disease in the kidney, lung, heart, liver, skin, and bone marrow.

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doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2017.07.011, hdl.handle.net/1765/102229
Cell Stem Cell
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

El Agha, E. (Elie), Kramann, R., Schneider-Kramann, R., Li, X. (Xiaokun), Seeger, W., Humphreys, B.D. (Benjamin D.), & Bellusci, S. (Saverio). (2017). Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Fibrotic Disease. Cell Stem Cell (Vol. 21, pp. 166–177). doi:10.1016/j.stem.2017.07.011