COVID-19 and pulmonary fibrosis: a potential role for lung epithelial cells and fibroblasts
Author(s)
John, Alison E
Joseph, Chitra
Jenkins, Gisli
Tatler, Amanda L
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly spread around the world following the first reports in Wuhan City, China in late 2019. The disease, caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, is primarily a respiratory condition that can affect numerous other bodily systems including the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems. The disease ranges in severity from asymptomatic through to severe acute respiratory distress requiring intensive care treatment and mechanical ventilation, which can lead to respiratory failure and death. It has rapidly become evident that COVID-19 patients can develop features of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, which in many cases persist for as long as we have thus far been able to follow the patients. Many questions remain about how such fibrotic changes occur within the lung of COVID-19 patients, whether the changes will persist long term or are capable of resolving, and whether post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis has the potential to become progressive, as in other fibrotic lung diseases. This review brings together our existing knowledge on both COVID-19 and pulmonary fibrosis, with a particular focus on lung epithelial cells and fibroblasts, in order to discuss common pathways and processes that may be implicated as we try to answer these important questions in the months and years to come.
Date Issued
2021-05-24
Date Acceptance
2021-05-03
Citation
Immunological Reviews, 2021, 302 (1), pp.228-240
ISSN
0105-2896
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
228
End Page
240
Journal / Book Title
Immunological Reviews
Volume
302
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000653257300001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Immunology
COVID-19
epithelial cells
fibroblasts
lung fibrosis
lung remodeling
SARS-CoV-2
TISSUE GROWTH-FACTOR
RESPIRATORY-DISTRESS-SYNDROME
TGF-BETA ACTIVATION
MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION
INTERSTITIAL FIBROBLASTS
INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES
MESSENGER-RNA
SYNDROME SARS
PIVOTAL ROLE
DISEASE
Publication Status
Published