TNF and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Alveolospheres formed from single iAEC2 over 14 d were stimulated for 72 h with a fibrosis cocktail (FC) containing TGF-β, TNF-α, platelet-derived growth factor AB (PDGF-AB), and lysophosphatidic acid, previously shown to induce phenotypic changes of epithelial cells in an ex vivo model mimicking alterations seen in IPF (27, 28) (Fig 1A).