This volume describes state-of-the-art protocols that serve as ¿recipes¿ for scientists concentrating on fibrosis research. This book is divided into four sections. Part I focuses on animal models of fibrosis and covers topics such as mimicking fibrosis in the lungs, skin, liver and heart, and generating transgenic mouse models. Part II discusses cell culture systems, where the chapters explore cell types important for the development of fibrosis. Part III looks at the purification, quantification, and analysis of the ECM proteins, and Part IV describes computer-assisted methods such as quantifying fibrillar collagen alignment and exploring the nano-surface of collagen with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.Cutting-edge and practical, Fibrosis: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource aimed at outstanding quality and repeatability of research experiments in the fibrosis field.

Includes cutting-edge methods and protocols

Preface¿ Table of Contents¿ Contributing Authors¿Part I: Perspective1.      Human Fibrotic Diseases: Current Challenges in Fibrosis Research Joel Rosenbloom, Edward Macarak, Sonsoles Piera-Velazquez, and Sergio A. JimenezPart II: Animal Models of Fibrosis 2.      The Bleomycin Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis Tianju Liu, Francina Gonzalez De Los Santos, and Sem H. Phan3.      Intra-Dermal Injections of Bleomycin to Model Skin Fibrosis Toshiyuki Yamamoto4.      Assessing the Effects of Fibrosis on Lung Function by Light Microscopy-Coupled Stereology Bartosz Pilecki and Grith Lykke Sorensen5.      Transplanting Human Skin Grafts onto Nude Mice to Model Skin Scars Jie Ding and Edward E. Tredget6.      Hypertrophic Scarring in the Rabbit Ear: A Practical Model for Studying Dermal Fibrosis Layla Nabai and Aziz Ghahary7.      Mouse and Rat Models of Induction of Hepatic Fibrosis and Assessment of Portal Hypertension Sabine Klein, Robert Schierwagen, Frank Erhard Uschner, and Jonel Trebicka8.      Mouse Models of Corneal Scarring Laure Rittié, Audrey E.K. Hutcheon, and James D. Zieske9.      Modeling Cardiac Fibrosis in Mice: (Myo)Fibroblast Phenotype after Ischemia Daniela Fraccarollo, Paolo Galuppo, and Johann Bauersachs10.  Characterization of Mesenchymal-Fibroblast Cells using the Col1a2 Promoter/Enhancer Ian M. H. Li, Amy L. Horwell, Grace Chu, Benoit de Crombrugghe, and Goerge Bou-Gharious