An additional clinical study confirmed that ADAM17 expression was higher in IPF patients and connective tissue diseases as well as interstitial lung disease than in healthy controls, with patients with acute exacerbations of IPF showing significantly higher ADAM17 expression than those with stable IPF; these findings suggest that ADAM17 plays a significant role in the progression of pulmonary fibrosis [95]. This evidence concerns the gene ADAM17 and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.