Besides, researchers found that B cell activating factor (BAFF, one member of the TNF family) played a key role in bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis model by regulating the IL-1β and IL-17 pathway, and the expression of BAFF increased in BALF of IPF patients (François et al., 2015). Here, TNFSF13B is linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.