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Editorial
. 2020 Nov 13;56(11):608.
doi: 10.3390/medicina56110608.

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition: A Major Pathogenic Driver in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis?

Francesco Salton  1 , Barbara Ruaro  1 , Paola Confalonieri  1 , Marco Confalonieri  1
Affiliations
Editorial

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition: A Major Pathogenic Driver in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis?

Francesco Salton et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Despite the fact that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a common downstream mechanism of all fibrosing diseases, whether it represents a leading process in the development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis has been widely discussed and is still a matter of debate. According to the most recent advances, EMT is thought to be mainly driven by the overexpression of several developmental pathways upstream of dysfunctional epithelial regeneration, which indeed normally occurs after damage and during tissue turnover. Future research should likely be directed at investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying epithelial dysfunction, in order to allow for both the removal of the wording "idiopathic" from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ("IPF") and for the identification of earlier and more effective therapeutic targets than the late process of fibrosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

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