Cologne Seminars on Ageing "Targeting mesenchymal tissue responses in fibrotic diseases"

About Dr. Distler´s talk
Persistent activation of fibroblasts is a common denominator of fibrotic diseases but remains mechanistically incompletely understood. In contrast to physiologic tissue repair, fibroblasts remain persistently active in fibrotic diseases and continue to release excessive amounts of extracellular matrix. We will discuss novel preclinical tools for target identification and validation as well as novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the uncontrolled activation of fibroblasts in fibrotic diseases. We will also highlight opportunities for transfer of these findings from bench-to-bedside including potential implications for targeted antifibrotic therapies.