Narciclasine effects on myofibroblast clustering (734.8)

Abstract

Myofibroblasts are wound‐healing cells that differentiate from fibroblasts. They are characterized by the expression of alpha‐smooth muscle actin stress fibers. Narciclasine is a plant growth modulator that was shown to promote stress fibers in cancer cells and growth arrest in normal cells through the Rho‐kinase pathway. These same characteristics are involved in myofibroblast differentiation. Our goal was to determine whether narciclasine treatment was sufficient to induce myofibroblasts. Adult human fibroblasts were grown on coverslips and treated +/‐ TGF‐beta1 for 24 hours, followed by narciclasine treatment. Myofibroblast differentiation increased from control with narciclasine treatment but no difference was seen when narciclasine was added to TGF‐beta1 treated normal human fibroblast cultures; however, cell clustering was observed in Dupuytren’s treated fibroblasts under these conditions. Work is currently underway to understand the basis for cell clustering in myofibroblasts mediated by narciclasine.