Since the discovery of the circulating “fibrocyte” in 1994 as a collagen-producing cell of the peripheral blood, the physiologic and pathologic role of this unique cell populaton has grown steadily. This pioneering new book provides the first comprehensive review of the role of fibrocytes in wound repair, granuloma formation, antigen presentation, scar formation, and various fibrosing disorders such as interstitial lung disease and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. It also includes discussions of the recent studies on the molecular signals that influence fibrocyte migration, proliferation, and function in the context of normal physiology and pathology. The chapters are contributed by the leading researchers in the field.

Contents:

• Fibrocytes: Discovery of a Circulating Connective Tissue Cell Progenitor (R Bucala)
• Fibrocytes: Immunologic Features (J Chesney)
• Regulatory Pathways for Fibrocyte Differentiation (D Pilling & R H Gomer)
• Hematopoietic Origin of Fibrocytes (A C LaRue & M Ogawa)
• The Role of Fibrocytes in Post-burn Hypertrophic Scarring (J-F Wang et al.)
• Role in Asthmatic Lung Disease (S Mattoli & M Schmidt)
• Fibrocytes and Other Fibroblast/Myofibroblast Progenitors in Systemic Sclerosis (A E Postlethwaite)
• Fibrocytes in Interstitial Lung Disease (B N Gomperts & R M Strieter)
• Role of Fibrocytes in Renal Fibrosis (N Sakai et al.)
• Role of Fibrocytes in Atherogenesis (H Medbury)
• Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis: A Prototype Fibrocyte Disease (C L Kucher & S E Cowper)
• CD34⁺ Fibrocytes in Normal and Neoplastic Human Tissues (P J Barth)