The human lung is a remarkable organ that filters up to 10,000 liters of air daily, interfacing with the exposome [1]. Several environmental factors, including airborne pollutants, particulate matter, allergens, and microbial proteins, are sensed and/or metabolized by immune and structural cells of the lung [2]. Macrophages, the predominant immune cells in the human lung [3–6], sense a wide spectrum of signals within their microenvironment. In response to external and endogenous signals, macrophages express genes that confer distinct functional attributes, which can cause disease when inappropriately elicited [7].
