What are fibrocyte cells?

Fibrocytes are mesenchymal cells that arise from monocyte precursors. They are present in injured organs and have both the inflammatory features of macrophages and the tissue remodelling properties of fibroblasts.

What is fibroblast and fibrocyte?

Fibroblast and fibrocyte are two stages of fiber-producing cells in the connective tissue. A fibroblast is the active form whereas the fibrocyte is the inactive form. Fibroblasts secrete collagens and other components of the extracellular matrix. Both fibroblasts and fibrocytes are involved in the tissue repair.

What are the main differences between fibroblast and fibrocyte?

The key difference between fibroblast and fibrocyte is that fibroblast is an active cell involved in the secretion of the extracellular matrix, collagen and other extracellular molecules of the connective tissue while fibrocyte is an inactive form of small fibroblast.

What do fibrocytes differentiate into?

Fibrocytes are bone-marrow derived cells that are recruited into sites of tissue injury, most likely as precursor cells, and differentiate into spindle-shaped cells that contribute to repair and angiogenesis, with the potential to induce pathological fibrosis [1], [2].

What kind of cell is a fibrocyte?

Fibrocyte. A fibrocyte is an inactive mesenchymal cell, that is, a cell showing minimal cytoplasm, limited amounts of rough endoplasmic reticulum and lacks biochemical evidence of protein synthesis. The term fibrocyte contrasts with the term fibroblast. Fibroblasts are activated connective tissue cells characterized by synthesis of proteins…

What is the medical definition of a fibroblast?

Medical Definition of fibrocyte. : fibroblast specifically : a spindle-shaped cell of fibrous tissue.

What are the characteristics of both fibroblasts and monocytes?

2. Characteristics of fibrocytes Fibrocytes, which originate from bone marrow, bear characteristics of both fibroblasts and monocytes, and hence exhibit a combination of connective tissue cell and myeloid features ( Herzog and Bucala, 2010 ).

What’s the difference between a fibrocyte and a spindle?

They also consist of elongated structures, which protrude from the cell body. Therefore, the actual shape of a fibroblast can be spindle-shaped. Active fibroblasts comprise many endoplasmic reticula in their cytoplasm. Since the cytoplasm of fibroblasts is basophilic, it is stained in purplish blue by the H&E stain.