Grant: Project Grant

Over 30,000 Canadians have difficulty breathing every day due to pulmonary fibrosis, which results in inflammation and scarring of the lungs. Pulmonary fibrosis is a family of over 200 interstitial lung diseases, the most common of which is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Pinpointing the exact cause of pulmonary fibrosis in an individual is very challenging. We know that environmental and occupational exposures, some medications, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and even smoking are risk factors for pulmonary fibrosis, but the exact cause is still unknown. Using ultra-resolution computed tomography (CT) imaging, we recently discovered that the earliest changes in the lungs of IPF patients occur in the smallest airways, which carry air in and out of the lungs. We now want to determine how small airways are scarred in patients with IPF, if this happens in other patients with pulmonary fibrosis, and how best we can treat this small airway fibrosis. We will investigate how environmental exposures influence small airway scarring down to the single-cell level to improve our understanding of the disease process in pulmonary fibrosis. Our results will provide the evidence needed to bring us closer to better diagnosis, environmental health policies and treatment for patients with pulmonary fibrosis.