Monocytes/Macrophages as One of the Sources of Myofibroblasts in the Development of Tissue Fibrosis: The Role of Noncoding RNAs

Abstract— Recently, more and more attention has been paid to the study of the role of epigenetic mechanisms in the development and progression of immunoinflammatory diseases accompanied by the development of fibrosis. Epigenetic modifications, compared with genetic changes that persist throughout the life of an organism, are extremely dynamic and can differ both in different cell populations and in the same cell depending on the stage of differentiation and microenvironment. The review summarizes information on the potential role of key epigenetic factors, in particular, noncoding RNAs, in the differentiation of circulating bone-marrow-derived monocytes into myofibroblasts, cellular mediators of fibrosis. Owing to their high plasticity and ability for phenotypic transformation, monocytes and macrophages are the most important participants in tissue homeostasis and play a key role in the development of fibrosis at all stages of tissue repair, from inflammation to remodeling.