Some studies show that the 11 hub genes (OAS1, OAS2, IFIT1, IFIT3, ISG15, IRG6, IFI44, IFI44L, USP18, MX1 and MX2 were identified in the study) belong to the Type I ISGs, which participate in mediating autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammatory diseases through activating inflammatory responses and innate immunity responses [61, 67, 71]. Here, USP18 is linked to autoimmune disease.