EGF and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: We subsequently constructed a diagnostic model that accurately distinguished between OSA and control samples based on four hypoxia-related genes: AREG, ATF3, ZFP36, and DUSP1. AREG, a member of the epidermal growth factor family (35), is an autocrine growth factor and mitogen for astrocytes, Schwann cells, and fibroblasts (36).