MYOFIBROBLASTS: A REVIEW

Abstract

The healing is a complex phenomenon which restores the morphological and functional integrity of any tissue or organ injured. The recovery is a perfect and orderly cascade of cellular and molecular events that interact to have the rebuilding of tissue. The fibroblasts are the main cells involved in wound healing and have the main function to maintain the integrity of the tissue, the synthesis of components of extracellular matrix. The myofibroblasts are important components for the repair of injured tissue and appear after the end of the initial inflammatory phenomena. Myofibroblasts expressing α-actin of smooth muscle (α-SMA) to promote not only contraction but also synthesize high levels of proteases degrading the extracellular matrix.