Where there is failure of repression through, in part, loss/interruption of Elk1 expression/signaling, fibrogenesis may ensue through enhanced and sustained expression of ITGB6. In summary, this study describes a novel function for the transcription factor Elk1 in contributing to repression of αvβ6 integrins in the pulmonary epithelium and show that reduced Elk1-mediated repression is important in driving the increased αvβ6 integrin expression and collagen deposition observed in pulmonary fibrosis. The gene discussed is ELK1; the disease is pulmonary fibrosis.