A connection between TLR4 and IPF may exist, however, as enrichment of several endogenous ligands for TLR4, such as high mobility group box 1 (72, 73), tenascin-C (74–76), S100 protein (73), and hyaluronan fragments (77), has been reported in the BAL or lung tissue of patients with IPF (78). Here, TNC is linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.