Given that previous studies have identified eQTL for MUC5AC [10–12] in asthma and MUC5B [13] in IPF located near the genes themselves (“local eQTL”), one potential a priori prediction could have been that these same variants would be associated with MUC5AC and MUC5B protein concentrations. This evidence concerns the gene MUC5B and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.