EGFR and pulmonary fibrosis: However, EGFR activation has been implicated in alveolar epithelial processes that drive lung injury; specifically in models of lung injury caused by mechanical stretch (i.e., VILI) [29], pulmonary fibrosis induced by overexpression of transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α), an EGFR ligand [35], bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis [36], and LPS-induced acute lung injury [30].