Role of Viruses in the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is by definition a disease of unknown etiology. The prognosis is poor, with essentially no response to therapy (1,2). Many potential etiologies have been put forth, including environmental exposures, circulating autoantibodies, and infection. Frequently, individuals date their original symptom onset to a viral infection or other upper respiratory tract symptoms. Based on these observations, it has therefore been proposed that IPF may be an infectious disease triggered by a response to a virus.