An association between RHOC expression and ILD was observed with the mRNA microarrays (p = 0.002) and confirmed with qRT-PCR (p < 0.01) while a lack of association between EGF expression and ILD was observed with the mRNA microarrays (p = 0.230) and confirmed with qRT-PCR (p > 0.05; Supplementary Fig. 8). Here, EGF is linked to interstitial lung disease.