Abstract
Mesenchymal cells are mesoderm-derived stromal cells that are best known for providing structural support to organs, synthesizing and remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM) and regulating development, homeostasis and repair of tissues. Recent detailed mechanistic insights into the biology of fibroblastic mesenchymal cells have revealed they are also significantly involved in immune regulation, stem cell maintenance and blood vessel function. It is now becoming evident that these functions, when defective, drive the development of complex diseases, such as various immunopathologies, chronic inflammatory disease, tissue fibrosis and cancer. Here, we provide a concise overview of the contextual contribution of fibroblastic mesenchymal cells in physiology and disease and bring into focus emerging evidence for both their heterogeneity at the single-cell level and their tissue-specific, spatiotemporal functional diversity.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the co-organizers, presenters and attendees of the EMBO meeting “Mesenchymal Cells in Immunity, Inflammation and Cancer”, held in Athens in 2019, for insightful discussions on mesenchymal cells. This work was supported by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation to the BSRC ‘Alexander Fleming’’ as part of the Foundation’s initiative to support the Greek research center ecosystem, and the FP7 Advanced ERC Grant MCs-inTEST (grant 340217) to G.K.
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Koliaraki, V., Prados, A., Armaka, M. et al. The mesenchymal context in inflammation, immunity and cancer. Nat Immunol 21, 974–982 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-020-0741-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-020-0741-2
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