Published in

Elsevier, Translational Oncology, 5(7), p. 650-655, 2014

DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2014.05.002

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Activation of Oncogenic Pathways in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is defined as a specific form of chronic, progressive fibrosing interstitial pneumonia of unknown cause. The most recent hypotheses on IPF pathogenesis suggest a central role of epithelial cell damage, followed by a dysregulated molecular cross talk between epithelial cells and fibroblasts. Thus, IPF progression has often been assimilated to that of cancer, and several signaling patterns appear to be disrupted in both diseases. Here, we analyze the expression in an IPF series of a panel of molecules, which are known to play a role in tumorigenic process. Our findings, although preliminary, reveal that IPF landscape is enriched in neoplastic potential expressed in a context of complex genomic polyclonality and cellular heterogeneity. These results provide a rationale for further investigations aimed to exploit—in a similar fashion to cancer—targeted therapies for a “precision medicine” approach to IPF.