There was a trend of AE-IPF patients (n = 3, median 0.0935, IQR 0.0910–0.1532) having a higher NHLRC2 expression than the patients in the stable phase of the disease (n = 47, median = 0.0656, IQR = 0.0537–0.0931) (p = 0.080), although the difference was not statistically significant. Here, NHLRC2 is linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.