Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Apr;22(4):303-316.
doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2016.02.004. Epub 2016 Mar 12.

Pulmonary Macrophages: A New Therapeutic Pathway in Fibrosing Lung Disease?

Adam J Byrne  1 , Toby M Maher  2 , Clare M Lloyd  3
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Pulmonary Macrophages: A New Therapeutic Pathway in Fibrosing Lung Disease?

Adam J Byrne et al. Trends Mol Med. 2016 Apr.
Free article

Abstract

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a growing clinical problem which can result in breathlessness or respiratory failure and has an average life expectancy of 3 years from diagnosis. Therapeutic options for PF are limited and there is therefore a significant unmet clinical need. The recent resurgent interest in macrophage biology has led to a new understanding of lung macrophage origins, biology, and phenotypes. In this review we discuss fibrotic mechanisms and focus on the role of macrophages during fibrotic lung disease. Data from both human and murine studies are reviewed, highlighting novel macrophage-orientated biomarkers for disease diagnosis and potential targets for future anti-fibrotic therapies.

Keywords: clinical trials; idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; innate immunity; pathogenesis; personalized medicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles