Besides the regulation by TP53, a connection of KLRK1‐AS1 expression with inflammatory conditions was identified: non‐smoking patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have reduced expression of KLRK1‐AS1 (Qian et al., 2018) and, concomitantly, elevated levels of C‐reactive protein (CRP) (Dahl et al., 2011). Here, KLRK1 is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.