As IFN-β is known to be a potent inhibitor of lung fibroblast proliferation [34], a fact we have confirmed (Figure 7), it is reasonable to conclude that early viral infection of fibroblasts would result in the stimulation of TLR-9 by viral CpG DNA sequences and a concomitant decrease in fibroblast proliferation. Here, IFNB1 is linked to viral infectious disease.