Again, in the COMET-IPF study, it has been reported that the decrease in the diversity of bacterial communities in the lung is significantly associated with an increase in proinflammatory cytokines and growth factors (IL-1β, CXCL8, MIP-1α, G-CSF, VEGF and EGF) [71]. Here, VEGFA is linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.