Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a lung disease that is characterized by epithelial cell
damage and areas of denuded basement membrane resulting in inflammation, fibroblast
proliferation, excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and remodeling of alveolar
gas exchange units. The progressive loss of lung gas exchange units in patients with IPF
leads to respiratory failure and eventually to death. While the etiology of this disease is
unknown, for many years studies suggested that chronic inflammation was the underlying …