AIM2 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: It is worth noting that the administration of Dexamethasone onto exacerbated, but not stable, COPD-derived PBMCs was not able to abolish AIM2-dependent IL-1α release, implying that corticosteroid treatment does not influence AIM2-dependent inflammatory signaling, which could explain why during the treatment with corticosteroids, COPD exacerbation still progresses, leading to worsened respiratory functionality.