Fig. 8.

The effect of dexamethasone and BIRB-796 on unstimulated TNF-α release. Macrophages from smoking controls (n = 8; A and C) and COPD patients (n = 8; B and D) were cultured under condition 1 and then treated with vehicle (0.005% DMSO), dexamethasone (1 μM), or BIRB-796 (1 μM) for 24 h. Culture supernatants were analysed for TNF-α. Data shown are median ± range of absolute TNF-α levels (A and B) or mean ± SEM of percentage inhibition of TNF-α (C and D). ** = significant reduction in TNF-α levels compared to vehicle control (A and B) (p < 0.01). ** and *** = significantly higher level of inhibition (C and D) (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001 respectively).