PubMed · 12296885
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D W Thomas, K G Harding. 2002. Wound healing.. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2168.2002.02181.x
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BACKGROUND: No reliable, cost-effective serum test is available for assessment of liver fibrogenesis, the most serious complication of chronic inflammatory liver diseases (CLD). In sera of patients with CLD, we determined the concentration of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a secreted downstream mediator of the potent fibrogenic cytokine transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 83 patients with CLD (17 with chronic hepatitis, 16 with histologically proven fibrosis, and 50 with cirrhosis) and 74 healthy individuals. Serum CTGF was measured by use of a sandwich immunoassay. RESULTS: The mean concentration of CTGF was highest in the fibrosis group (5.2-fold) and in the chronic viral hepatitis group (4.3-fold) but lower in those patients with fully developed cirrhosis. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of CTGF for fibrosis vs control was 0.955 (95% confidence interval, 0.890-0.987). The CTGF/platelet ratio increased the detection limit for cirrhosis from 84% to 92% and the specificity from 85% to 87.5% (cutoff for CTGF was 364 microg/L, ratio 2.05). CONCLUSION: CTGF in serum is a candidate marker of ongoing fibrogenesis in chronic liver diseases.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of the profibrotic connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in relation to severity of intraocular fibrosis and neovascularization in human vitreoretinal disorders for the identification of potential therapeutic targets to prevent fibrosis. METHODS: Concentrations of CTGF were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 119 vitreous samples from patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, epiretinal membrane, and macular hole. Clinical data, including degree of intraocular fibrosis and neovascularization, were collected using standardized forms. RESULTS: Multifactorial analysis revealed that only CTGF levels correlated highly significantly with degree of fibrosis in the various vitreoretinal disorders studied (P<.001; R2= 47.7%). Likewise, variation in degree of fibrosis was best predicted by CTGF levels (P<.001). CONCLUSION: The strong correlation between CTGF levels and degree of fibrosis in vitreoretinal disorders suggests that CTGF is an important factor in ocular fibrosis, similar to its role in pathologic fibrosis in other organs. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Connective tissue growth factor may be a therapeutic target for prevention of sight-threatening vitreoretinal scarring in the eye.
A new family of cell growth and differentiation regulators has emerged in the past decade. These signaling proteins grouped under the CCN acronym, participate to fundamental biological functions, during normal development and in adulthood, from birth to death. Disregulation of their expression has been associated to tumorigenesis. Even though part of their physiological properties may be related to their capacity to bind several integrins, the CCN protein also interact with several other receptors and ligands that play critical roles in the regulation of cell signaling and communication. The multimodular structure of the CCN proteins provides the ground for the myriad of roles in which they participate, but it remains a challenge to those who wish to decipher the structure-function relationship that govern their multifunctional properties. The recent discovery of CCN variants whose expression is associated to the development of cancer raises fascinating questions regarding their role in the establishment and maintenance of the tumor state. Identifying the pathways in which the CCN proteins act and establishing the role of these proteins in intercellular communication will constitute new promising avenues among the trends for 21st century in cancer research.