IL6 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: There were some differences between groups for the effects of dexamethasone, but these were small in magnitude (<20% approximately) and not consistent (Table S2) i.e. at 100:1 MOI, the effect of dexamethasone on TNF-α and IL-6 secretion was significantly lower in COPD patients (Table S2), while at 10:1 MOI the opposite pattern was apparent for IL-6 with lower effects in smokers.