Circulation research
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Circulation research · Aug 2009
Heart-infiltrating prominin-1+/CD133+ progenitor cells represent the cellular source of transforming growth factor beta-mediated cardiac fibrosis in experimental autoimmune myocarditis.
Myocardial fibrosis is a hallmark of inflammation-triggered end-stage heart disease, a common cause of heart failure in young patients. ⋯ Taken together, heart-infiltrating prominin-1(+) progenitors are the major source of subsequent TGF-beta-triggered cardiac fibrosis in experimental autoimmune myocarditis. Recognizing the critical, cytokine-dependent role of bone marrow-derived progenitors in cardiac remodeling might result in novel treatment concepts against inflammatory heart failure.