| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,940,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,140,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Systemic sclerosis or scleroderma is characterized by excessive fibrosis of the skin and other internal organs, and still remains an intractable condition based on lack of any effective therapeutics. In this study, we have found that macrophages are recruited to the affected organs before development of apparent fibrosis in a mouse model for systemic sclerosis. Macrophages detected in the affected organs are primarily fibrogenic M2 macrophages, which are upregulated under a control of transcription factor Fra-1. Gene expression of Fra-1 is also increased in circulating monocytes derived from patients with systemic sclerosis, compared with those from healthy controls. In summary, our results together indicate that upregulated expression of Fra-1 promotes differentiation of monocytes into M2 macrophages, which are recruited to the skin and other organs affected and promote excessive fibrosis.
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