TERT and fibrosis: In a recent study, the enhanced susceptibility of SPC-Tert KO mice to BLM-induced lung injury and fibrosis was not correlated with telomere shortening in AEC II during the 3-week fibrotic period, and telomere shortening was not observed in fibrosis lungs of bleomycin-induced mice, suggested that the precise molecular mechanisms by which TERT protects bleomycin-induced AEC II in a telomere-independent manner requires further elucidation [38].