Furthermore, gene expression profiles of lungs from normal subjects compared to those from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients (Kaminski/Rosas data base from ipfcellatlas.com) did not indicate a difference in TXNIP gene expression levels in alveolar epithelial cells (AT1 and AT2), vascular endothelial cells, or fibroblasts (Figure 1D), suggesting that the changes of TXNIP levels in fibrotic lungs may occur due to protein degradation. This evidence concerns the gene TXNIP and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.