TGFB1 and pulmonary fibrosis: It is also probable that blood monocytes penetrating the alveolar space in patients with ongoing lung fibrosis could differentiate into fibrocytes, since profibrotic mediators such as IL-4, IL-13, TGF-β and endothelin-1 are present in the fibrotic alveolar milieu and have been shown to induce the differentiation of monocytes to fibrocytes in vitro [19].