ArticleArthritis research & therapy2017
Anti-connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) monoclonal antibody attenuates skin fibrosis in mice models of systemic sclerosis.
Article in Arthritis research & therapy, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Connective Tissue Growth Factor in Digestive System Cancers: A Review and Meta-Analysis.BioMed research international · 2020Pooled it
- Review
- EGFR-STAT1 pathway drives fibrosis initiation in fibroinflammatory skin diseases.Nature communications · 2025Article
- New Challenging Systemic Therapies for Juvenile Scleroderma: A Comprehensive Review.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The Function of the TGFβ Signaling Pathway in Connective Tissue Diseases: From Biology to Clinical Application.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Review
- Towards a Better Prognosis in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis-Related Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Recent Developments and Perspectives.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Review
- Combination of Anti-Angiogenics and Immunotherapies in Renal Cell Carcinoma Show Their Limits: Targeting Fibrosis to Break through the Glass Ceiling?Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Targeting extracellular matrix stiffness for cancer therapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Back to the future: targeting the extracellular matrix to treat systemic sclerosis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2023Review
- Blocking CCN2 Reduces Established Palmar Neuromuscular Fibrosis and Improves Function Following Repetitive Overuse Injury.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Let's Focus on the Fibrosis in Dupuytren Disease: Cell Communication Network Factor 2 as a Novel Target.Journal of hand surgery global online · 2023Review
- Therapeutic Approaches to Systemic Sclerosis: Recent Approvals and Future Candidate Therapies.Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2023Review
- Towards a Unified Approach in Autoimmune Fibrotic Signalling Pathways.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Autoantibodies against PIP4K2B and AKT3 Are Associated with Skin and Lung Fibrosis in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Using the Bleomycin-Induced Model of Fibrosis to Study the Contribution of CCN Proteins to Scleroderma Fibrosis.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Module 4-Deficient CCN2/Connective Tissue Growth Factor Attenuates the Progression of Renal Fibrosis via Suppression of Focal Adhesion Kinase Phosphorylation in Tubular Epithelial Cells.Molecular and cellular biology · 2023Article
- The Dawning of a New Enterprise: RNA Therapeutics for the Skin.Journal of dermatology and skin science · 2023Article
- Connective Tissue Growth Factor in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Breaking the Bridge.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Systemic Scleroderma-Definition, Clinical Picture and Laboratory Diagnostics.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSystemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Although the involvement of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) has been well-documented in SSc fibrosis, the therapeutic potential of targeting CTGF in SSc has not been fully investigated. Our aim was to examine the therapeutic potential of CTGF blockade in a preclinical model of SSc using two approaches: smooth muscle cell fibroblast-specific deletion of CTGF (CTGF knockout (KO)) or a human anti-CTGF monoclonal antibody, FG-3019.
methodsAngiotensin II (Ang II) was administered for 14 days by subcutaneous osmotic pump to CTGF KO or C57BL/6 J mice. FG-3019 was administered intraperitoneally three times per week for 2 weeks. Skin fibrosis was evaluated by histology and hydroxyproline assay. Immunohistochemistry staining was used for alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA), platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ), pSmad2, CD45, von Willebrand factor (vWF), and immunofluorescence staining was utilized for procollagen and Fsp1.
resultsAng II-induced skin fibrosis was mitigated in both CTGF KO and FG-3019-treated mice. The blockade of CTGF reduced the number of cells expressing PDGFRβ, procollagen, αSMA, pSmad2, CD45, and Fsp1 in the dermis. In addition, inhibition of CTGF attenuated vascular injury as measured by the presence of vWF-positive cells.
conclusionsOur data indicate that inhibition of CTGF signaling presents an attractive therapeutic approach in SSc.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.