A type of cell that synthesizes extracellular matrix and collagen, playing a critical role in wound healing.A fibroblast is a common cell type found in connective tissue throughout the body. Its main job is to produce and maintain the extracellular matrix — the mesh of proteins and sugars that gives tissues their structure and elasticity. Fibroblasts are especially active during wound healing, where they migrate into the damaged area, multiply, and secrete large amounts of collagen and other matrix components to close the gap and restore tissue integrity. They also interact with immune cells and can influence inflammation and tissue remodelling.
Fibroblasts were among the first cell types observed in connective tissue, described in the nineteenth century by anatomists including Rudolf Virchow, who recognised them as the principal cells of the tissue that holds organs together.
When tissue is injured, chemical signals attract fibroblasts to the site. There they switch into a highly synthetic state, manufacturing collagen and other structural proteins that assemble into fibres outside the cell. Some fibroblasts differentiate into myofibroblasts, which contain contractile proteins and pull the edges of a wound together. After the wound closes, many of these cells die off, and the remaining fibroblasts continue to slowly remodel the matrix, balancing production and breakdown to maintain tissue strength.
Fibroblasts are cultured in laboratories to study wound healing and fibrosis, and they are used in tissue engineering to produce skin substitutes for treating burns and chronic ulcers.
In cell culture, fibroblasts are famously robust and fast-growing, which is why they were used in some of the earliest experiments that established how animal cells behave outside the body.