Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

Researchers have found, in mice with pulmonary fibrosis and with dominant immune response mediated by immune Th2 cells (T-helper cells), that aerobic exercise reduced lung fibrosis. The study, “Aerobic Exercise Attenuated Bleomycin-Induced Lung Fibrosis in Th2-Dominant Mice,” was published in the journal PLOS One. Fibrosis is the scarring and thickening…

Certain distinctive genetic differences or variations, including in genes involved in mucus production, were found to be significantly predominant in European populations of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to the study, “Association Study for 26 Candidate Loci in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients from Four European Populations” published in…

High levels of  gremlin-1, a protein important in lung and other organ development, promoted a more aggressive fibrotic response in a mouse model of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) upon exposure to silica, suggesting  gremlin-1 as a potential target for IPF therapeutics. The study “Gremlin-1 Overexpression in Mouse Lung Reduces Silica-Induced Lymphocyte Recruitment –…

A recent study published in the journal PLOS One, found two members of a class of proteins called surfactant proteins (SPs) at increased levels as a result of lung fibrosis and suggests that future studies could reveal the proteins, SP-A and SP-D,  as markers of disease severity. Pulmonary emphysema and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are defined…

P-Rex1 is a potential novel therapeutic target for pulmonary fibrosis (PF), according to the results of a new study, “Identification of P-Rex1 as an anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrogenic target for pulmonary fibrosis,” published in Scientific Reports. Because little is understood about factors that promote the transition of PF from…

Researchers at Genentech/Roche presented the outcomes of three studies investigating pirfenidone’s action in IPF patients, during the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2016 International Conference, held in San Francisco, May 13-18. Esbriet, also known by the generic name of pirfenidone, is an antifibrotic agent commonly prescribed as a treatment for…

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine showed that starving a group of immune cells by inhibiting the activity of the enzyme Arginase-1 impairs the cells’ ability to induce an allergic response. The study, “Arginase 1 is an innate lymphoid-cell-intrinsic metabolic checkpoint controlling type 2 inflammation,” published in the journal…

Analysis of pooled data from three international, randomized, and placebo-controlled clinical trails — the Phase 2 TOMORROW trial and two Phase 3 INPULSIS trials — showed that nintedanib (Ofev) is an efficient and safe drug for the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The study, “Nintedanib…

Hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2) deletion from fibrotic fibroblasts induces senescence (gradual deterioration) in the cells and fibrotic clearance in mouse models of lung fibrosis. The findings, reported in the study “Hyaluronan synthase 2 regulates fibroblast senescence in pulmonary fibrosis” and published in the journal Matrix Biology, suggest…

The heart’s right ventricle in systemic sclerosis patients is impaired when compared to people without the disease, according to a study titled “Impact of pulmonary fibrosis and elevated pulmonary pressures on right ventricular function in patients with systemic sclerosis,” published in the journal Rheumatology. Patients with systemic…