In addition, we tested MUC15 gene expression in other seasonal influenza virus strains (H1N1, H3N2 and B) and observed consistent upregulation across influenza strains (Additional file 3: Figure S1), a phenomenon not observed in MUC13 and MUC3A. Therefore, we selected MUC15 for further downstream investigations. The gene discussed is MUC15; the disease is influenza.