The results showed that although the expression of IFNAR1, IFNAR2 or IFNGR1 was down-regulated upon infection with Cal04 or PR8 viruses, there was no statistical difference in the expression levels of these three IFN receptors between AECs with CC/CT and TT genotypes, either in the absence of infection or after viral infection (Figures 5G–L, Supplementary Figures 3G–L), indicating that rs12979860 polymorphism does not affect expression of IFN receptors in AECs. Here, IFNAR1 is linked to viral infectious disease.