Pericardial Fluid of Patients With Coronary Artery Disease Can Drive Fibrosis Via TGF-Beta Pathway
Ali Fatehi Hassanabad, Darrell D. Belke, Paul M. K. Gordon, Guoqi Teng, Jameson A. Dundas, Anna N. Zarzycki, Jeannine Turnbull, Justin Deniset, Paul W.M. Fedak
Abstract
• Human PF contains inflammatory mediators, including cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. • Reflecting a dynamic space, disease states can influence the inflammatory mediator profile of human pericardial fluid. • Human PF can drive profibrotic processes in vitro via the TGF-β pathway. Human pericardial fluid (PF) is a rich reservoir of biologically active markers. The acellular compartment of PF can drive cardiac fibroblast activity in vitro. This process is mediated through the transforming growth factor-β pathway. Of clinical importance, the PF of patients with coronary artery disease has an increased profibrotic capacity compared with the PF of patients without coronary artery disease.