Liu A, Sharma L, Yan X, Dela Cruz CS, Herzog EL, Ryu C. Emerging insights in sarcoidosis: moving forward through reverse translational research.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2022;
322:L518-L525. [PMID:
35196896 PMCID:
PMC8957321 DOI:
10.1152/ajplung.00266.2021]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Sarcoidosis is a chronic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology that primarily affects the lungs. The development of stage IV or fibrotic lung disease accounts for a significant proportion of the morbidity and mortality attributable to sarcoidosis. Further investigation into the active mechanisms of disease pathogenesis and fibrogenesis might illuminate fundamental mediators of injury and repair while providing new opportunities for clinical intervention. However, progress in sarcoidosis research has been hampered by the heterogeneity of clinical phenotypes and the lack of a consensus modeling system. Recently, reverse translational research, wherein observations made at the patient level catalyze hypothesis-driven research at the laboratory bench, has generated new discoveries regarding the immunopathogenic mechanisms of pulmonary granuloma formation, fibrogenesis, and disease model development. The purpose of this review is to highlight the promise and possibility of these novel investigative efforts.
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