Many collagen fibers and CD248highITGA8low human fibroblast-like cells were found in the same fibrotic regions with a few CD248lowITGA8high human fibroblast-like cells detected (Fig. 9a–d), and the expression levels of CD248 in the IPF lungs were significantly increased compared with those in the normal lungs (Additional file 1: Figure S8). Here, CD248 is linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.