A recent study using an animal model of lung transplants shows that chronic alcohol consumption by the donor promotes scarring and airway injury after transplantation.

Researchers in the United Kingdom have demonstrated that high levels of pepsin, a digestive enzyme that is a marker for gastric aspiration, are associated with acute rejection of a lung transplant. This research provides further evidence that lung rejection may be caused by factors other than alloimmunity, the attack the body mounts to protect itself against "foreign" cells.