LIF and asthma: Based on Woodruff et al.’s study (6) and previous studies from our lab [9, 10], we decided to measure serpinB2 and FKBP51 as well as NF-kB, IL-6 [8], LIF (leukaemia inhibitory factor, an IL-6 family neurotrophic cytokine [9, 11]) and porin gene expression (a marker of mitochondrial mass [10, 12]) in AEC from children with no, controlled or uncontrolled asthma.