Enhanced migration of fibroblasts derived from lungs with fibrotic lesions.

The fact that fibroblasts from fibrotic lungs migrate faster than those from controls suggests that migration is related to the initiation of the pulmonary fibrotic process. These in vitro studies suggest that fibroblasts derived from the lungs of patients with pulmonary fibrosis have a migratory phenotype. Such a change in fibroblast phenotype, if it occurred in vivo, may be important in the context of the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis.