PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Loredana Postiglione AU - Stefania Montagnani AU - Antonio Riccio AU - Nunzia Montuori AU - Salvatore Sciorio AU - Paolo Ladogana AU - Gaetano Di Spigna AU - Clotilde Castaldo AU - Guido Rossi TI - Enhanced expression of the receptor for granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor on dermal fibroblasts from scleroderma patients. DP - 2002 Jan 01 TA - The Journal of Rheumatology PG - 94--101 VI - 29 IP - 1 4099 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/29/1/94.short 4100 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/29/1/94.full SO - J Rheumatol2002 Jan 01; 29 AB - OBJECTIVE: To elucidate events that initiate the involvement and stimulation of fibroblasts in systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: We examined 15 patients with SSc diffuse form, 15 with CREST syndrome, and 5 healthy subjects. Cultured fibroblasts obtained from skin biopsies in SSc involved and non-involved areas and norrmal skin fibroblasts were cultured with different doses of granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) to study the effects of this factor on the expression of GM-CSF receptor (GM-CSFR) on fibroblast proliferation and cellular adhesion structures. RESULTS: Cultured fibroblasts obtained from biopsies of normal and SSc skin areas express GM-CSFR and such expression is increased in SSc fibroblasts. GM-CSF stimulation in vitro did not increase SSc fibroblast growth, in spite of a strongly increased expression of the GM-CSFR. The adhesion structures are always more abundant in SSc fibroblasts as compared to healthy cells and GM-CSF seems able to increase cell adhesion plaques. CONCLUSION: We suggest that shift of fibroblasts toward a more adhesive differentiated pattern, due to or accompanied by an increased expression of GM-CSFR, may be an important event in the pathogenesis of SSc.