Lung Diseases & Pulmonology

Innate Immunity and Lung Fibrosis

The immune system protects the body from disease. Over the past decade, however, researchers have come to understand that the innate immune system — the part of the immune system that serves as the body’s first line of defense — is implicated in an enormous number of disease processes that affect many millions of people around the world. Pulmonary fibrosis is a group of serious lung diseases that affect the respiratory system. Pulmonary fibrosis scars and thickens lung tissue. It impacts the connecting tissue in the lung and the alveoli (air sacs inside the lungs). The lung damage gradually gets worse over time.