IL6 and acute respiratory distress syndrome: Neutrophils and macrophages, which play a major role in the inflammatory response in LPS-induced ALI, are the primary source of diversified inflammatory mediators such as pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 as well as anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-β (Goodman et al., 2003; Fligiel et al., 2006).