Multiple DEGs found in our analysis have been previously reported as differentially expressed in different blood cells from patients with SSc, including the endoplasmic reticulum transmembrane channel-like TMC8 [53], the collagen COL9A2 [66], the Kruppel-like transcription factor KLF6 [37, 53, 61], the zinc finger ZNF654 [53], the insulin-Induced INSIG2 [53], the transcription regulator SMARCA4 [53], the kynureninase KYNU [37, 62, 63, 68], the telomere regulator POT1 [53], and the hydrolase ABHD5 [63, 68]. Here, COL9A2 is linked to systemic sclerosis.