TERT and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: In humans, loss of function mutation in genes that encode telomerase components, such as TERT or TERC, cause premature aging and age-related diseases, including dyskeratosis congenital (DC), aplastic anemia, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which are collectively referred to as “telomere syndromes” to reflect the short and dysfunctional telomeres commonly found in these patients’ cells [6,7,8].