NFKB1 and autoimmune disease: First, we did not specifically explore the exact link between the two genes, NFKB1 and PTX3, and benzene exposure, and there are some inflammatory conditions that can cause changes in these two genes (e.g., autoimmune diseases), and second, the level of benzene exposure of GSE9569 used for the analysis is unknown, and does not allow us to validate the changes of the two genes in GSE21862 across different exposure levels.