Epidermal growth factor receptor paracrine upregulation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis fibroblasts is blocked by nintedanib.

Although present in normal cells, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in a variety of tumors and has been associated with decreased survival. Because activated fibroblasts are considered key effectors in fibrosis and because metastatic and fibrotic processes were shown to share similar signaling pathways, we investigated the contribution of EGFR signaling to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) progression in lung fibroblasts derived from patients with IPF (IPF-HLF). EGFR expression and EGFR-related signaling were evaluated by Western blot and immunohistochemistry.