Stromal-immune cell cross talk fundamentally alters the lung microenvironment following tissue insult.

Communication between stromal and immune cells is essential to maintain tissue homeostasis, mount an effective immune response, and promote tissue repair. This \u0027crosstalk\u0027 occurs in both the steady state and following a variety of insults, for example, in response to local injury, at sites of infection, or cancer. What do we mean by crosstalk between cells? Reciprocal activation and/or regulation occurs between immune and stromal cells, by direct cell contact and indirect mechanisms, including the release of soluble cytokines. Moving beyond cell to cell contact, and this review investigates the complexity of \u0027cross-space\u0027 cellular communication. We highlight different examples of cellular communication by a variety of lung stromal and immune cells following tissue insults. This review examines how the \u0027geography of the lung microenvironment\u0027 is altered in various disease states, more specifically we investigate how this influences lung epithelial cells and fibroblasts via their communication with immune cells and each other.