Peritoneal mesothelial cells give rise to myofibroblasts via mesothelial-mesenchymal transition in peritoneal fibrosis (60.10)

Mesothelial cells (MCs) cover the surface of the internal organs, and the peritoneal cavities as it have a phenotype intermediate between epithelial and mesenchymal cells, expressing markers indicative of both cell types. Peritoneal mesothelium is used as a semipermeable barrier for the exchange of toxic substance in peritoneal dialysis, a renal failure therapy. When peritoneal MCs are exposed to non-physiological dialysis fluids in long term, tissue fibrosis and failure of treatment occurs. Myofibroblasts (MFs) synthesize excessive extracellular matrix proteins and participate in peritoneal fibrosis. However, the origin of MFs remains obscure. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), typically defined by the loss of E-cadherin and up regulation of mesenchymal markers, been suggested to involved in this process. However, as MCs do not express E-cadherin, this mechanism needs to be clarified as we propose mesothelial-mesenchymal transition (MMT) instead of EMT. In the present study, we examined whether per...