CCL2 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Given that exacerbation in COPD is an episode of an enhancement of the immune response, which causes an amplification of cell death [4,23], we found a greater decline in viability of cells after LPS exposure, an augmentation in the production of IL-8 and MCP-1, as well as a significant increase in NLRP3 activity and its product IL-1β.