Fibrocytes and the tissue niche in lung repair

• Published in: Respiratory research Vol. 12; no. 79; p. 76
• Main Authors: Andersson-Sjöland, Annika, Nihlberg, Kristian, Eriksson, Leif, Bjermer, Leif, Westergren-Thorsson, Gunilla
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 09.06.2011; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Animals; Asthma; Cell Differentiation; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Clinical Medicine; Fibroblasts; Health aspects; Hematopoietic stem cells; Humans; Klinisk medicin; Lung - metabolism; Lung - pathology; Lung diseases; Lung Diseases - metabolism; Lung Diseases - pathology; Lungmedicin och allergi; Medical and Health Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells - metabolism; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells - pathology; Phenotype; Physiological aspects; Regeneration; Respiratory Medicine and Allergy; Review; Signal Transduction; Stem Cell Niche; Tissues; Wound healing; Sweden
• ISSN: 1465-993X; 1465-9921; 1465-993X
• DOI: 10.1186/1465-9921-12-76

Human fibrocytes are bone marrow-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells that express a variety of markers related to leukocytes, hematopoietic stem cells and a diverse set of fibroblast phenotypes. Fibrocytes can be recruited from the circulation to the tissue where they further can differentiate and proliferate into various mesenchymal cell types depending on the tissue niche. This local tissue niche is important because it modulates the fibrocytes and coordinates their role in tissue behaviour and repair. However, plasticity of a niche may be co-opted in chronic airway diseases such as asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and obliterative bronchiolitis. This review will therefore focus on a possible role of fibrocytes in pathological tissue repair processes in those diseases.