Fibrotic disease model with IPF hydrogels

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) affects roughly 250,000 globally with a 3-5 year survival rate after being diagnosed and no cure. There is a significant gap in the knowledge surrounding cellular and molecular lung repair which in turn has delayed advancement of therapeutic approaches for IPF. The implementation of novel human lung-derived biomaterials that mimic physiological pathways in lung diseases allows us to track alveolar epithelial repopulation and repair mechanisms more effectively. Pursuing this aspect of pathophysiology provides further insight into inflammatory and interstitial pulmonary diseases and future therapeutic strategies.