NFKB1 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Although the Cox-2 gene is transcriptionally-controlled (e. g. via NF-κB in response to IL-1β [33] or CSE [26]), and mechanisms such as protein turnover contribute to COX-2 expression [34], the level of COX-2 protein is determined in large part by changes in the half-life of the mRNA Thus, there is often a poor correlation between Cox-2 mRNA and protein levels because Cox-2 mRNA is rapidly degraded [4], raising the possibility that mRNA degradation could be why there is discord between mRNA and protein levels in COPD lung fibroblasts.