PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Masahide Kubo
AU  - Hironobu Ihn
AU  - Kenichi Yamane
AU  - Kunihiko Tamaki
TI  - Upregulated expression of transforming growth factor-beta receptors in dermal fibroblasts of skin sections from patients with systemic sclerosis.
DP  - 2002 Dec 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 2558--2564
VI  - 29
IP  - 12
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/29/12/2558.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/29/12/2558.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2002 Dec 01; 29
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression levels of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) receptors in the skin of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHOD: We examined expressions of TGF-beta type I and type II receptors (TGF-betaRI and TGF-betaRII) in skin sections of 5 patients with SSc and 5 healthy controls using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: The expression levels of both TGF-betaRI and TGF-betaRII were elevated in the dermal fibroblasts of skin sections from patients with SSc in comparison to control skin sections in in situ hybridization and in immunohistochemical stainings. The numbers of fibroblasts expressing TGF-betaRI and TGF-betaRII in the SSc skin sections were increased in comparison to controls. The inflammatory cells around the vessels also expressed TGF-betaRI and TGF-betaRII intensively in the SSc skin sections. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the autocrine TGF-beta signaling due to the overexpression of TGF-betaRI and TGF-betaRII in dermal fibroblasts is involved in the pathogenesis of dermal fibrosis in patients with SSc.