Macrophages regulate the expression of pro- and anti-fibrotic angiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (Stockmann et al., 2010), which may be relevant given the efficacy of therapies targeting vascular endothelial growth factor 2 (VEGFR2) in IPF (Barratt et al., 2018). This evidence concerns the gene VEGFA and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.