The effect of pathogenic factors and anti-rheumatic drugs on the proliferation of cultured human fibroblasts
Hauss, W.H.; Mey, J.; Schulte, H.
Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie 38(5-6): 220-232
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0340-1855 PMID: 224619 Document Number: 145121
1. Staphylolysin and low density lipoprotein (LDL) stimulate the proliferation of cultivated fetal human fibroblasts of the lung. 2. Antirheumatic drugs (prednisolone, acetylsalicylic acid, D-penicillamine and chloroquine) inhibit the proliferation of cultivated fetal human fibroblasts. 3. Antirheumatic drugs (prednisolone, acetylsalicylic acid, D-penicillamine and chloroquine), simultaneously added to the cluture eliminate the acceleration of the proliferation induced by staphylolysine or low density lipoprotein. 4. These results suggest, that in rheumatic diseases either pathogenic factors or antirheumatic drugs stimulate or inhibit, respectively, directly the cells of the connective tissue. Arterial wall cells, being mesenchymal cells, react in similar way on staphylolysine, low density lipoprotein and antirheumatic drugs. The similarity between the rheumatic and the arteriosclerotic process suggest to use antirheumatic drugs in the prevention and therapy of human arteriosclerosis.