Alveolar epithelial disintegrity in pulmonary fibrosis.

ABSTRACT: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic lung disease characterized by progressive decline in lung function, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Current concepts of the pathogenesis of IPF primarily center on dysregulated epithelial cell repair and altered epithelial-mesenchymal communication and extracellular matrix deposition following chronic exposure to cigarette smoke or environmental toxins. In recent years, increasing attention has been directed toward the role of the intercellular junctional complex in determining the specific properties of epithelia in pulmonary diseases. Additionally, recent genomewide association studies suggest that specific genetic variants predictive of epithelial cell dysfunction may confer susceptibility to the development of sporadic

SUBMITTER: Kulkarni T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5005273 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature