Studies in rheumatoid arthritis suggest that IL‐7 (the nearest coding gene to CILinc02) contributes to inflammation 43 and mediates the production of TNF 44, while in OA, IL‐7 has been reported to induce MMP‐13 and proteoglycan loss from cartilage, suggesting that it may promote cartilage degeneration 45. Here, MMP13 is linked to rheumatoid arthritis.