CXCL8 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Furthermore, AMs from COPD active smokers express higher levels of IL-8, but not TNFα, compared to those from COPD ex-smokers in response to respiratory pathogens, such as non-typeable Haemophilus influenza (NTHI), Moraxella catarrhalis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae (35).