IL17A and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: The rationale for evaluating IL-17 as a potential therapeutic target in COPD has been supported by in vitro data showing that IL-17 was able to induce cytokines, such as IL-6 and IL-8, for neutrophil recruitment and activation, and the inhibition of IL-17 using a monoclonal antibody resulted in a reduction in neutrophil numbers in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in an animal model [83].