Lung connective tissue

Connective tissue plays a central role in the structure of lung, an organ in which structure and physiologic performance are inseparable. Recognition that many diseases of lung involve damage and remodeling of connective tissue has prompted efforts to define the precise composition of lung connective tissue and to identify factors that affect its synthesis, deposition, and degradation. As a consequence of these endeavors, studies of lung connective tissue have come to encompass information about nonstructural extracellular matrix macromolecules and the biology of inflammatory cells, as well as parenchymal lung cells and structural matrix components. As information has been integrated from these diverse areas, important insights into lung connective tissue remodeling have been acquired. In the future, further progress in understanding the contribution of connective tissue to lung structure and function in health and disease can be expected from this broader approach.