HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Brass, D. M. Articles by Schwartz, D. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Brass, D. M. Articles by Schwartz, D. A.

Using Mouse Genomics to Understand Idiopathic Interstitial Fibrosis

Laboratory of Respiratory Biology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to David M. Brass, Ph.D., National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Rall Building, Room C224, P.O. Box 12233 MD C2-15, 111 Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. E-mail: brassd{at}niehs.nih.gov

ABSTRACT

Idiopathic interstitial pneumonia represents a broad category of lung disorders characterized by scarring or fibrosis of the lung accompanied by varying degrees of inflammation. A number of important hypotheses based on clinical observations have substantially contributed to our understanding of the pathogenesis of the most insidious and devastating of the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias, idiopathic interstitial fibrosis (IIF). Patients with IIF usually present late in the course of their illness; thus, animal models of the early, preclinical stage of these diseases are needed. Although no model faithfully recapitulates the clinical course of disease or the histopathology observed in humans, all result in scarring of the lung and may therefore be used to understand the biological processes that contribute to this scarring. The purpose of this article is to summarize the application of mouse genetic and genomic tools to these models to advance our understanding of IIF and to describe emerging agnostic approaches to identifying genes important to the fibroproliferative component of IIF.

Key Words: fibrosis • QTL • genomics • microarray