Reactive Oxygen Species Are Required for Maintenance and Differentiation of Primary Lung Fibroblasts in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Abstract

Robust expression of α-SMA and type-I collagen, high and uniformly-distributed ROS levels, resistance to oxidative-stress induced cell death and constitutive activation of tyrosine kinase(s) signalling are distinctive features of the IPF phenotype. We suggest that this phenotype can be used as a model to identify the initial trigger of IPF.