We demonstrated that one group of divergent genes in particular, the gene set with increased expression in COPD but decreased expression in IPF (Group 3), was enriched for multiple genes identified by GWAS in IPF and COPD, enriched for important pathways including TNFA signaling via NFKB and TGFB signaling, and overrepresented by myeloid cell genes. Here, TGFB1 is linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.