Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 17, 2026

Refined Murine Model of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Published on: June 17, 2025
Epigenetics in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Argyrios Tzouvelekis1, Naftali Kaminski
1Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, 300 Cedar St., TAC-441 South, P.O. Box 208057, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Abstract:
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a lethal chronic lung disorder with no effective treatment and a prognosis worse than that of lung cancer. Despite extensive research efforts, its etiology and pathogenesis still remain largely unknown. Current experimental evidence has shifted the disease paradigm from chronic inflammation towards the premise of abnormal epithelial wound repair in response to repeated epigenetic injurious stimuli in genetically predisposed individuals. Epigenetics is defined as the study of heritable changes in gene function by factors other than an individual's DNA sequence, providing valuable information regarding adaption of genes to environmental changes. Although cancer is the most studied disease with relevance to epigenetic modifications, recent data support the idea that epigenomic alterations may lead to variable disease phenotypes, including fibroproliferative lung disorders such as IPF. This review article summarizes the latest experimental and translational epigenetic studies in the research field of chronic lung disorders, mainly focusing on IPF, highlights current methodology limitations, and underlines future directions and perspectives.
Related Concept Videos
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
Cystic Fibrosis: Pathogenesis
CF is primarily caused by a genetic mutation in a chromosome 7 gene coding for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein. The most common gene mutation leading to CF is the ΔF508 mutation,...
Epigenetic Regulation
X-chromosome...
Epigenetic Regulation
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-II: Pathophysiology
Chronic Inflammation
COPD: Pathogenesis and Clinical Features
The primary cause for the onset of COPD is cigarette smoking and exposure to air pollution. These hazardous factors initiate a chain reaction within the lungs, resulting in chronic inflammation, damage to the airways, and a...

