Editorial: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - A sticky business

Pulmonary fibrosis comprises a spectrum of disease phenotypes, including familial and idiopathic forms. Current research suggests that pulmonary fibrosis is a “two-hit” disease: a genetic predisposition to abnormal alveolar epithelial-cell regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis combined with environmental stressors, including exposure to known fibrogenic materials (e.g., asbestos, silica, and cigarette smoke)