Fibrogenic lung reactions occur as a common phenotype shared among disorders of
heterogeneous etiologies. Even with a common etiology, the extent and pattern of fibrosis
vary greatly among individuals, even within families, suggesting complex gene-environment
interactions. The search for mechanisms shared among all fibrotic lung diseases would
represent a major advance in the identification of therapeutic targets that could have a broad
impact on lung health. Although it is difficult to grasp all of the complexities of the varied cell …