MMP1 and systemic sclerosis: To identify cis-regulated genes associated with SSc, we integrated the eQTL data with the results of differential expression analysis (602 genes significantly differentially expressed with FDR <10%), which shortlisted five candidates, GSDMA, MMP1, AC004148.2, APOBEC3C and NMRK1, as the only genes that are both DE and cis-regulated in SSc MDMs (figure 2A).