Fig. 8.

Smoking history alters IL-8 expressionat the protein level in human tracheobronchial epithelial cells (TBEC) and macrophages, and decreases TNF-α production in macrophages treated with LPS. a IL-8 production was measured in TBEC and alveolar macrophages in the absence (−) or presence of LPS or poly(I:C) (PIC) at 24 h, and compared between smokers (S, n = 4) and non-smokers (NS, n = 4). These data are a re-analysis of the data displayed in Fig. 3a. There is significant induction of IL-8 in smokers’ TBEC after PIC stimulation, and in smokers’ macrophages after LPS stimulation. b TNF-α production in supernatants of cultured alveolar macrophages. The cells from smokers (S, n = 4) and non-smokers (NS, n = 4) were treated in the absence (−) or presence of LPS or PIC for 4, 24 and 48 h. NS trend to have higher levels of TNF-α at all the time points (P = 0.1)