Fibrogenesis & Tissue Repair has published its first articles in its Cardiovascular Diseases thematic series; a collection of both research and review papers relating to all aspects of cardiac fibroproliferative disorders.

In the series Editorial, Ian M.C. Dixon, Cardiovascular Section Editor for the journal and Editor of the thematic series, describes how the new series aims to address topics not generally associated with “textbook” knowledge of cardiac fibroblasts and will publish work in areas that represent novel concepts and new developments in heart disease and cardiac fibrosis. One topic that requires further investigation is the suggestion that fibroblasts exhibit distinct differentiated phenotypes in different tissues. The implications of these differences remain understudied – especially in cardiovascular disease where cardiac fibrosis is present.

Published alongside the Editorial is a review article by Fan et al. entitled “Cardiac fibroblasts, fibrosis and extracellular matrix remodeling in heart disease”, in which the authors discuss the roles that fibroblasts play in heart disease in the context of extracellular matrix (ECM) formation, homeostasis and remodelling. Fan et al. review heart disease in both patients and animal models, including genetically modified mice with altered expression of ECM regulatory proteins, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs).

The Editorial and first review article can be accessed via the journal homepage. To submit to the series please use our online submission system and indicate in your cover letter that you would like it to be considered for the series; alternatively, send a pre-submission enquiry to editorial@fibrogenesis.com. To stay up to date with other articles published in the series, sign up to receive article alerts.