Connective tissue and the problems of its pathological conditions

• Main Authors: V. A. Shkurupy, L. B. Kim, A. V. Kovner, L. A. Cherdantseva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Siberian State Medical University (Tomsk) 2018-01-01
• Series: Bûlleten' Sibirskoj Mediciny
• Subjects: connective tissue; fibrosis; extracellular matrix; macrophages; fibroblasts
• Online Access: https://bulletin.tomsk.ru/jour/article/view/1025
• ISSN: 1682-0363; 1819-3684

This review and discussion article focuses on the physiology and pathology of connective tissue system and its interaction with mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) in initiation and development of fibrosis. The study presents the perspective on fibrotic conditions as hypertrophied nonspecific body reactions aimed at maintaining homeostasis and initiated by pathologic (in terms of scale and duration of manifestations) activation of MPS cells resulting from their endocytosis of biocompatible factors of different origin accompanied by nonspecific activation of expression, synthesis, and secretion of lysosomal enzymes and growth factors by MPS cells. This perspective is supported by the authors’ own findings as well as evidence published in studies of other authors. Authors’ findings support and illustrate the above conclusions using data on the modulation of functional status of macrophages and fibroblasts as well as data on prevention and correction of fibrotic processes in different experimental pathologic conditions.