Scientists found the immune switch that scars lungs during radiation — and how to flip it off

Radiation saves lives in lung cancer — up to 70% of the roughly 230,000 Americans diagnosed each year receive it — but up to one in five patients is left with lasting breathing problems when healthy lung tissue scars. At City of Hope, a team led by Heather McGee with first author Jaeho Kim has traced much of that damage to a single signal: radiation raises a messenger called interferon-beta, which flips helpful immune cells (known as ILC2s) into harmful, inflammatory ones. In a peer-reviewed Nature Communications study, blocking that signal in mice reduced inflammation, lung injury and scarring. It is early, animal-stage work — but it names a concrete target for making a lifesaving treatment gentler, including for people whose lungs are already fragile.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation