Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF), specifically Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), presents as a complex interstitial lung disease primarily affecting older individuals. It is characterized by varied stages of fibrosis alongside normal lung tissue, deriving from extensive morphological alterations and dysfunction, and indicating simultaneous stages of disease progression. Recent breakthroughs in fields like population genetics, transcriptomics, and advanced cellular modeling have shed new light on IPF's underlying biological mechanisms. These studies underline multiple contributory factors including but not limited to telomere dysfunction, oxidative stress, and cellular senescence, indicating a multifaceted origin of fibrosis without a clear predominant cause. Despite these insights, the precise processes dictating fibrosis progression remain unclear, urging further exploration.

This Research Topic aims to enhance the understanding and management of IPF by concentrating on the spatial attributes of lung tissue and the integration of complex biological data within its anatomical frameworks. The goal is to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes by shedding light on the complex interplay of cellular actions and molecular events at specific disease stages, employing a range of advanced imaging and omics technologies.

To gather further insights into these technically challenging and crucial aspects of IPF study, we welcome original research, review, and new methodology articles focusing on spatial data analysis. Themes of particular interest include, but are not limited to:

• Single cell or single nuclear RNAseq in interstitial lung disease
• Single cell or single nuclear epigenetic approaches in interstitial disease
• Diagnostic or research imaging techniques to determine stages of PF
• Differential tissue digestion techniques enabling tissue compartment analysis in IPF
• Spatial transcriptomics and its applications in IPF
• Proteomic and metabolomic mapping in lung tissue
• Integrative and computational analysis of omics data within an anatomical context
• Novel imaging methodologies for studying lung fibrosis

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Frontiers in Physiology

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