Alexis Desmoulière

TL;DR: The origin and the specific features of the myofibroblast in diverse fibrotic lesions, such as systemic sclerosis; kidney, liver, and lung fibrosis; and the stromal reaction to certain epithelial tumors are reviewed.

TL;DR: The myofibroblast is a key cell for the connective tissue remodeling that takes place during wound healing and fibrosis development, and may represent a new important target for improving the evolution of such diseases as hypertrophic scars, and liver, kidney or pulmonary fibrosis.

TL;DR: The intimate dialogue between the (myo)fibroblasts and their microenvironment represents a fascinating domain that must be better understood in order not only to characterize new therapeutic targets and drugs able to prevent or treat pathological developments but also to interfere with skin alterations observed during normal aging or premature aging induced by a deleterious environment.

TL;DR: It is suggested that the myofibroblast may represent a new important target of antitumor therapy because of its ability to interact with epithelial cells and other connective tissue cells and may thus control such phenomena as tumor invasion and angiogenesis.

TL;DR: Normal and Pathologic Soft Tissue Remodeling: Role of the Myofibroblast, with Special Emphasis on Liver and Kidney Fibrosis