AIM2 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Based on our published data on the release of IL-1-like cytokines from human PBMCs from smokers and COPD patients [12], we first evaluated the levels of IL-1-like cytokines, which are strictly associated to the multimeric complex activation, to investigate the role of the AIM2 inflammasome in this mouse model of CS-exposure [9].