Ask a researcher: How a simple blood test could be used to diagnose pulmonary fibrosis

Our supporter Andy, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) in 2013. He is currently waiting for a lung transplant. Here he asks our researcher, Simon a few questions about his research into PF and how it could make a difference to others with the condition.

Hello. Could you introduce yourself and your work?

My name is Simon Hart and me and my team work at the University of Hull. We are attempting to develop a blood test to detect if people with lung disease are likely to develop scarring on their lungs leading to pulmonary fibrosis (PF).

What is the ultimate goal of your research?

The goal is to be able to predict which treatment will work best for which patients with Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILD). I also hope that we will be able to develop new drugs to stop the lungs becoming scarred in some patients.

Why is it so difficult to know how to treat my condition?

Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILDs) are a range of conditions that affect the tissue that lines the inside of our lungs, where the air we breathe meets the lungs. Some forms of ILD cause scar tissue to build up in this lining – we call this pulmonary fibrosis. The treatments needed for ILDs that feature scarring are different from those that don’t. It’s very difficult to know when someone is initially diagnosed with ILD, whether they will develop pulmonary fibrosis or not.

This makes treatment decisions difficult, and only over time can doctors see which treatment is best. This can mean delays to the correct treatment being prescribed during which time patients lung capacity can reduce. It would be excellent if we had a blood test to determine which treatment would work best for people with ILD much earlier. This is what we want to develop.

How will you develop this blood test?

In the lungs of people with pulmonary fibrosis we find cells that have undergone premature cell ageing – these cells effectively go to sleep and stop producing new cells. Things like getting older, tobacco smoke and your genetics can encourage cells to age in this way. These aged cells then produce chemicals which cause other cells in the lungs to start making scar tissue. This is pulmonary fibrosis. This build-up of scar tissue causes the lungs to become stiff, making it harder to breathe.

In laboratory experiments, we will be identifying the key chemicals produced by prematurely aged lung cells that promote scarring. Once we know what these are, we will be able to test for them in patients. If a patient with ILD has these chemicals in their blood we know it’s likely they will develop pulmonary fibrosis. These patients will then be able to start on drugs to reduce the scarring on their lungs much earlier, giving them a better quality of life for longer.

How do you identify these chemicals?

In the laboratory we will grow lung cells and then induce them to become prematurely aged. We will then collect and measure the chemicals that the cells produce. Liquid containing the chemicals produced by these cells will be added to scar-producing cells, and then we will measure how much scar tissue they produce.

Will this also help develop new treatments for pulmonary fibrosis?

We hope so. When we are testing for chemicals which cause scarring in the lungs we will also test drugs that we can use to block these chemicals. We hope we will eventually be able to develop a treatment which will be able to prevent the scar tissue from forming in the lungs in the first place.

You can find out more about IPF here

Comment now