In other ILD diseases (non-IPF related), the integrin ITGB8, a member of the TNF receptor family (TNFRSF11B), an important component of the immune response system (NOD2) and an innate immune pathway component (ITLN1) are among the genes with high correlation with ACE2. The transcription factor FOXQ1 was identified among the 20 unique transcription factors specific for SARS-CoV-2 in a recent in silico study57, while OAS1 was among the top 50 genes with a significant correlation coefficient with ACE2 in a previous study33. Here, ACE2 is linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.