Although we have not explored the role of CLIC4 in endothelial cells in the context of SSc in this study, it is interesting that aberrant expression of CLIC4 has previously been implicated in Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) [21] which hints at a role for CLIC4 in SSc endothelial cell dysfunction [22]. This evidence concerns the gene CLIC4 and pulmonary arterial hypertension.