In vitro identification of a subpopulation of fibroblasts that produces high levels of collagen in scleroderma patients

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Abstract
A subpopulation of scleroderma dermal fibroblasts was identified by flow cytometric analysis. Between 15% and 25% of the cells within the scleroderma fibroblast lines had high levels of cytoplasmic granularity, as identified by side light scatter characteristics. Similar fibroblasts composed < 3% of the cells within the normal fibroblast lines, although greater numbers could be induced through exposure to soluble factors derived from activated mononuclear cells. The granular subpopulation of fibroblasts produced 2–3 times as much procollagen as did the other fibroblasts. These data support the hypothesis that fibrosis in scleroderma may result in part from the activity of an inherently high procollagen‐producing subset of normal fibroblasts that is expanded through exposure to immune cytokines.