IL1B and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Thus, it appears that the function of IL-38 is analogous to that of other natural IL-1 family antagonists and similar to these molecules, it has been reported that IL-38 concentrations are elevated in patients afflicted by certain inflammatory conditions including RA, psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and IBD.