| 18220905 |
Barth PJ, Westhoff CC: CD34+ fibrocytes: morphology, histogenesis and function. . Curr Stem Cell Res Ther. 2007 Sep;2(3):221-7.
The connective tissue of virtually all human organs harbors huge amounts of resident CD34 (+) fibrocytes. Recent studies have shown that CD34 (+) fibrocytes derive from circulating CD14 (+) monocytes. CD34 (+) fibrocytes are involved in wound healing, act as antigen presenting cells and secrete a multitude of cytokines. Due to their diverse functions CD34 (+) fibrocytes play a role in connective tissue diseases, pulmonary fibrosis and tumor associated stromal remodeling. Stromal remodeling precipitated by invasive carcinomas is characterized by a loss of CD34 (+) expression paralleled by a gain of alpha-SMA expression in stromal cells resulting in a phenotype change from CD34 (+) fibrocytes towards alpha-SMA positive myofibroblasts. This process is very stereotypic and may play an essential role in local tumor invasion and systemic dissemination, since a reduction of antigen presenting CD34 (+) fibrocytes might constitute a step in escaping the hosts' immune control directed against invasive carcinoma cells. |
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