Connective Tissue Growth Factor and Pulmonary Fibrosis

Connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)has recently received much attention as a possible key determinant of progressive fibrosis.It is induced by TGF-β and is considered to be a downstream mediator of TGF-β.CTGF,whose biologic effect is not extensive,mainly mediates proliferation-promoting effect of TGF-β and the synthesis of extracellular matrix.Pulmonary fibrosis is usually the common final outcome of a variety of chronic pulmonary diseases.With the advances in the researches,the mechanisms of CTGF promoting pulmonary fibrosis has been better understood.Over the past years,a lot of studies have been conducted in treating the pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting CTGF.CTGF may serve as a new molecular target for anti-fibrosis therapy.