Figure 2
From: Cardiac fibroblasts, fibrosis and extracellular matrix remodeling in heart disease
Pluripotent cardiac fibroblasts impact different aspects of cardiac structure and function. Cardiac fibroblasts can produce a number of active peptides (for example, cytokines, growth factors, peptides), extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins (collagens, elastin, fibronectin, and so forth), and ECM-regulatory proteins, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs). As such, cardiac fibroblasts can impact molecular and cellular events that collectively determine cardiac structure and function.