Furthermore, HMGB1 could not only act as a proinflammatory factor to directly involve in tissue damage (Qin et al., 2006), but also induce lung fibrosis through NF-κB-mediated release of transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-β1) (Wang et al., 2017). This evidence concerns the gene TGFB1 and pulmonary fibrosis.