Dupuytren’s is truly a biomechanical process, and the ultimate process has to do with the way that fibroblasts and myofibroblasts attach to each other and physically attach to strands of collagen and other components of the tissue matrix which surrounds them. An investigation into the complex junction of living cells, strings of proteins and mechanical/chemical interactions is reported in the article “Physical State of the Extracellular Matrix Regulates the Structure and Molecular Composition of Cell-Matrix Adhesions” (full text: http://www.dupuytrenfoundation.org/DupPDFs/2000_Katz.pdf). The topic was touched on in a previous blog http://Dupuytrens.org/stretching-may-provoke-dupuytrens/ and represents the type of research which needs to be promoted to find biologic treatment options for Dupuytren’s and related conditions.
