Synthesis of the proteoglycan versican in pulmonary fibrosis

Abstract

Pulmonary fibrosis is associated with many chronic inflammatory lung diseases, and is considered to represent aberrant wound healing in the lung. The key pathogenic feature of pulmonary fibrosis is deposition of collagen-rich extracellular matrix by proliferating myofibroblasts in areas of former inflammatory exudate. We have recently localized proteoglycans, hyaluronan and collagens in eight major human conditions that lead to pulmonary fibrosis (Bensadoun et al. 1996, 1997), and have found that versican is a specific and abundant component of the provisional matrix surrounding myofibroblasts, regardless of the nature of the inflammation leading to fibrosis. This has led us to hypothesize that versican is involved in fibrosis.