Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is scarring of the lung caused by a variety of inhaled
agents including mineral particles, organic dusts, and oxidant gases. The disease afflicts
millions of individuals worldwide, and there are no effective therapeutic approaches. A major
reason for this lack of useful treatments is that few of the molecular mechanisms of disease
have been defined sufficiently to design appropriate targets for therapy. Our laboratory has
focused on the molecular mechanisms through which three selected peptide growth factors …