TY - JOUR T1 - Fibrocytes in pulmonary fibrosis: a brief synopsis JF - European Respiratory Review JO - EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY REVIEW SP - 552 LP - 557 DO - 10.1183/09059180.00007713 VL - 22 IS - 130 AU - Shyam Maharaj AU - Chiko Shimbori AU - Martin Kolb Y1 - 2013/12/01 UR - http://err.ersjournals.com/content/22/130/552.abstract N2 - Fibrocytes are bone marrow-derived, circulating mesenchymal progenitor cells that play a role in several fibrotic disorders, including lung fibrosis. They are attracted to injured tissue by various chemokines. It is likely that fibrocytes play a detrimental role in tissue homeostasis and promote fibrosis, although this paradigm needs further confirmation. This would make fibrocytes a possible novel treatment target for fibrotic disorders. Fibrocytes also have some potential as a biomarker for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other diseases, but the promising preliminary data from single centre studies still require independent validation. Despite several, as yet, unresolved issues, it has become clear that fibrocytes are more than an incidental finding in lung injury and repair, and may hold great promise for the future of IPF management. ER -