Despite our panel of 26 gene variants was designed across pertinent pathobiological pathways, it did not include others from the wide range of plausible IPF-associated SNPs regulating immune and fibrotic functions, such as master regulator TGF-β, TNF-α, full spectrum of TLRs, MHC (HLA) variants, and also SNPs in regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs) (4, 8, 33, 34). Here, HLA-C is linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.