Fibrosis research group

Fibrotic diseases are widespread and difficult to treat diseases in the world. Our research focuses on Dupuytren’s disease that is a common chronic fibrotic disease of the palm. As the disease progresses, thickening of the palmar connective tissue leads to permanent flexion deformities of the fingers. The cause of Dupuytren’s disease is not known and currently there are no approved treatment to control the progression of early-stage disease.

Our research group works on characterizing the molecular mechanisms that initiate and regulate the chronic fibrotic disease. Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind the disease onset will help to define targets for drug development of Dupuytren’s disease treatment. The focus of our research is on interactions between immune cells, especially macrophages, and the extracellular matrix components with the aim to characterize potentially important signaling pathways in disease pathology.

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