Given these previous findings and our current results, we suggest that an effective treatment for silicosis may be the promotion of epithelial cell regeneration, either through activating FGF10-FGFR2B signaling (e.g., administration of exogenous FGF10) or through stem cell-based therapy, e.g., human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSCs) transplantation, which can effectively reduce alveolar epithelial cells injury (Li et al., 2017) and attenuate silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis (Zhang et al., 2018). This evidence concerns the gene FGF10 and pulmonary fibrosis.