Fibrostenotic phenotype of fibroblasts in Crohn's disease is dependent on tissue stiffness and reversed by LOX inhibition

The results of this study indicate that stenotic fibroblasts exhibit an aberrant response to tissue stiffness with reduced MMP activity, leading to a perpetuous vicious circle of ever more fibrosis formation. Altering the microenvironment by LOX inhibition increases MMP activity and decreases ECM contraction, resulting in a potential anti-fibrotic agent for Crohn’s disease. Total RNA of human intestinal fibroblasts from 8 individual Crohn's disease patients. From every patient we used paired normal, inflamed and stenotic mucosa to isolate fibroblasts.