Liver fibrosis results primarily from the action of hepatic stellate cells, nonparenchymal cells
of the liver that undergo transdifferentiation into fibrogenic, proliferative, and contractile
myofibroblasts. Stellate cell transdifferentiation has been modeled by the culture of primary
cells, a system that has yielded important information about factors determining the
phenotype of these cells. Recent evidence suggests that the growth factor TGF-β (acting
through the cytoplasmic signaling intermediate Smad3) and the mechanical properties of the …