Causes of pulmonary fibrosis in COVID-19

Summary

Since early in the pandemic it has been clear that COVID-19 can cause serious damage to the lungs. We know that in some patients, even when they have recovered from COVID-19 there is scarring in the lungs, which can cause the lungs to work less well. The more ill patients are with COVID-19 the higher the risk of scarring. Exactly what causes scarring in people with COVID-19 is unknown.

We have recently identified a protein that is released after virus infection. This protein is already known to cause scarring in various non-infectious diseases. Our study at the University of Cambridge will determine whether this protein causes lung scarring in people with COVID-19. Understanding this question may allow us to predict which COVID-19 patients are at risk of long term lung scarring. We can then try to develop drugs to prevent lung scarring. All data will be published rapidly in open-access journals, and there are no disclosure risks.