Figure 2.

Fibroblasts coordinate with other cell types in hypertension to regulate fibrosis. Fibroblasts communicate with different cell types in hypertension, such as cardiomyocytes, macrophages, T cells, and dendritic cells, and regulate fibrosis. All different cell types can directly or indirectly modulate fibroblast activation. Hypertensive stimuli (HTN) induce mechanical stretch and β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) signaling and cause fibroblast activation and extracellular matrix (ECM) protein production, which can induce cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Similarly, fibroblasts can secrete chemoattracts like CCL2, which brings in more proinflammatory macrophages to the heart and subsequently induce fibroblast activation as well. Cytokine released from T cells and dendritic cells can induce direct or indirect activation of fibroblasts. α-SMA, alpha smooth muscle actin; ET1, endothelin 1. Images created with a licensed version of BioRender.com.