Since our previous studies have already confirmed that inflammatory response is one of the key pathologic processes involved in PF during long-term PD (Wang et al., 2016; Shi et al., 2020), thus we can draw a conclusion that autophagy contributes to PF by mediating inflammatory responses, which may associate with NF-κB pathway. This evidence concerns the gene NFKB1 and pemphigus foliaceus.