Figure 2

Levels of TNFα and IL-6 secreted into culture medium by purified monocytes from never smokers (5 subjects; purified cells from each subject were tested in triplicate), smokers (5 subjects; purified cells from each subject were tested in triplicate), AECOPD patients (AECOPD, 5 subjects; purified cells from each subject were tested in triplicate) and COPD patients (COPD, 5 subjects; purified cells from each subject were tested in triplicate). Monocytes were stimulated with 1 μg/ml of peptydoglycan (PGN) and supernatants were analyzed for TNFα(panel A) or IL-6 (panel B). Monocytes were stimulated with 100 ng/ml of LPS and supernatants were analyzed for TNFα(panel C) or IL-6 (panel D). The results were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni contrasts. Symbols: * significant difference (p < 0.05) versus never smokers; Δ significant difference (p < 0.05) versus smokers.