Strikingly, in IPF patients homozygous for the non-risk MUC5B rs35705950 allele, rare functional variants in TERT, PARN, TERC, or RTEL1 are enriched 7, suggesting a potential genetic interaction between MUC5B and telomerase-related genes. Here, MUC5B is linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.