Genetically, loss of function mutations of the genes encoding TERT, telomerase RNA component (TERC), poly-(A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) and regulator of telomere length 1 (RTEL1) underpins patient familial recessive hereditary IPF [2,18,88,89,90,91,92,93]. This evidence concerns the gene TERC and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.