New hypothesis concerning pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis using a tissue engineering method

Scleroderma is a connective tissue disease characterized by skin and internal organs fibrosis, vasculopathy of small arteries and activation of the immune system. The objective of this project is to study the capacity of scleroderma fibroblasts to induce fibrosis using a model of tissue engineered dermis. Fibroblasts were isolated from skin biopsies of patient with scleroderma for less than one year (early stage) or for more than ten years (late...