Expression of IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, TNF-α and TGF-β1 was measured in unstimulated and BLM stimulated A549 cells and the results showed that after silencing of CXCL16, the expression of IL-6, IL-8 and TGF-β1 were markedly reduced in BLM stimulated A549 cells (Fig. 5a, c, e), while the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α had no obvious changes (Fig. 5b, d). Here, IL1B is linked to Bloom syndrome.