A prospective cohort study evaluated the association of plasma matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) with the incidence of interstitial lung disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in a large multicenter RA cohort, further supporting the potential pathogenic role of MMP-7 and MMP-9 for RA–ILD (Luedders et al., 2024). The gene discussed is MMP9; the disease is interstitial lung disease.