Pulmonary fibrosis: from mechanisms to therapies
Mengna Jiang, Wenxia Bu, Xuehai Wang, Jialing Ruan, Wenlu Shi, Siqi Yu, Lizhen Huang, Peng Xue, Juan Tang, Xinyuan Zhao, Liling Su, Demin Cheng
Abstract
Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a chronic, progressive interstitial lung disease characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) and abnormal fibroblast proliferation, which is mainly caused by air pollution, smoking, aging, occupational exposure, environmental pollutants exposure, and microbial infections. Although antifibrotic agents such as pirfenidone and nintedanib, approved by the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA), can slow the decline in lung function and disease progression, their side effects and delivery inefficiency limit the overall prognosis of PF. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop effective therapeutic targets and delivery approaches for PF in clinical settings. This review provides an overview of the pathogenic mechanisms, therapeutic drug targeting signaling pathways, and promising drug delivery strategies for treating PF.