You have no items in your shopping cart.
Fibroblast Markers
A comprehensive guide to identifying fibroblasts, understanding their heterogeneity, and targeting the extracellular matrix in disease models.
1. What are Fibroblasts?
Fibroblasts are a dynamic and essential type of cell found natively in connective tissue.
These cells serve a critical role in the body: they actively secrete a variety of structural proteins responsible for composing the Extracellular Matrix (ECM), a robust network of proteins that gives structure, elasticity, and support to cells and tissues.
Fibroblasts are found in all connective tissue throughout the body, from the dense connective tissues that compose tendons and ligaments to the loose connective tissues under the epithelial lining of the gastrointestinal tract and skin. In addition to producing important structural components of the ECM (like collagen and fibronectin), fibroblasts also play a vital role in wound contraction and emit paracrine signals for organ differentiation during embryonic development.
2. Fibroblast Heterogeneity & Identification
Historically, fibroblasts have been a difficult cell type to accurately identify and isolate. The fibroblast cell class has a high degree of heterogeneity. Fibroblasts in different tissues, associated with different stages of disease, and in different species can appear phenotypically and morphologically different.
The Identification Challenge: Compounding this difficulty, fibroblasts do not have molecular markers specific only to them, unlike many other specialized immune or neuronal cell types.
As a result, a combination of molecular markers is often used in cell identification to ensure accuracy. These markers are highly helpful in the continued study of fibroblast structure and function, as well as in disease research where activated fibroblasts play a pathogenic role, such as tissue fibrosis, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, and the tumor microenvironment (cancer-associated fibroblasts or CAFs).
3. Common Fibroblast Cell Markers
Below are a number of common, highly utilized fibroblast cell markers. Click on any product to view full validation data, applications, and purchasing options.
Fibroblast Specific Protein 1 (FSP1 / S100A4)
A calcium-binding protein heavily found in new fibroblasts that plays a significant role in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This protein has also been strongly linked to a number of pathological conditions, including tissue fibrosis and cancer progression.
View FSP1 Antibody (orb750070) →.png)
FSP1 Antibody Staining
Vimentin
A highly conserved Type III intermediate filament protein. It is widely used as a foundational marker for cells of mesenchymal origin, including fibroblasts. Vimentin is essential for maintaining cell shape, integrity, and stabilizing cytoskeletal interactions.
View Vimentin Antibody (orb251542) →
Vimentin Antibody Staining
PDGFRA
Platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha (PDGFRA) is a receptor tyrosine kinase found on the surface of the cell membrane. It is heavily involved in signal transduction cascades that regulate critical cell growth, migration, and proliferation in fibroblast populations.
View PDGFRA Antibody (orb214373) →
PDGFRA Antibody Staining
Fibroblast Activation Protein-alpha (FAP)
A type-II transmembrane serine protease that is rarely expressed in healthy adult tissue but is heavily upregulated under abnormal, reactive conditions. It has been closely linked to the proliferation of numerous conditions, including fibrosis, metabolic diseases, arthritis, and the tumor microenvironment (as a CAF marker).
View FAP/Seprase Antibody (orb768079) →.png)
FAP Antibody Staining
CD90 (Thy-1)
A heavily N-glycosylated, glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored cell surface protein. CD90 is used extensively to identify distinct fibroblast sub-populations and is associated with numerous pathophysiological processes, including active inflammation, wound healing, and proliferation.
View CD90 Antibody (orb229832) →
CD90 Antibody Staining
Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (α-SMA)
The classical marker for myofibroblasts. Under mechanical tension or TGF-β signaling, fibroblasts transdifferentiate into myofibroblasts and upregulate α-SMA to facilitate wound contraction. It is heavily utilized as a marker in the identification of highly fibrotic tumors and reactive stroma.
View α-SMA Antibody (orb1294387) →.png)
α-SMA Antibody Staining
5. References
- Cheng F, Shen Y, Mohanasundaram P, Lindström M, Ivaska J, Ny T, Eriksson JE. Vimentin coordinates fibroblast proliferation and keratinocyte differentiation in wound healing via TGF-β-Slug signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Jul 26;113(30):E4320-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1519197113. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27466403/
- Fitzgerald AA, Weiner LM. The role of fibroblast activation protein in health and malignancy. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2020 Sep;39(3):783-803. doi: 10.1007/s10555-020-09909-3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32601975/
- Fotsitzoudis C, Koulouridi A, Messaritakis I, Konstantinidis T, Gouvas N, Tsiaoussis J, Souglakos J. Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts: The Origin, Biological Characteristics and Role in Cancer—A Glance on Colorectal Cancer. Cancers. 2022; 14(18):4394. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14184394
- Lendahl, U., Muhl, L. & Betsholtz, C. Identification, discrimination and heterogeneity of fibroblasts. Nat Commun 13, 3409 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30633-9
- MedlinePlus [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US). PDGFRA gene; [about 1 p.]. Available from: https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/pdgfra/
- Muhl, L., Genové, G., Leptidis, S. et al. Single-cell analysis uncovers fibroblast heterogeneity and criteria for fibroblast and mural cell identification and discrimination. Nat Commun 11, 3953 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17740-1
- Zeng, F., Gao, M., Liao, S. et al. Role and mechanism of CD90+ fibroblasts in inflammatory diseases and malignant tumors. Mol Med 29, 20 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s10020-023-00616-7