calpain and leucylleucine

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease that is characterized by fibrosis in the skin and internal organs, such as the lungs. Activated differentiation of progenitor cells, which are mainly resident fibroblasts, into myofibroblasts is considered a key mechanism underlying the overproduction of extracellular matrix and the resultant tissue fibrosis in SSc. Calpains are members of the Ca. Normal human dermal and lung fibroblasts pretreated with ALLN were stimulated with recombinant transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), followed by assessment of TGF-β1/Smad signaling and fibrogenic molecules.. Our results prove that calpains can be a novel therapeutic target for skin and lung fibrosis in SSc, considering its inhibitor ALLN.

Topics: Animals; Bleomycin; Calpain; Humans; Mice; Pulmonary Fibrosis; Scleroderma, Systemic; Transforming Growth Factor beta1