TNF and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Figure 5b–e shows mRNA levels of IL6, TNFα, IL1β, and MIP2 in lung tissues. Similar to the in vitro results, these levels were increased in the COPD group and were markedly decreased in the AGE group. These results agreed with the protein levels of the cytokines and chemokines shown in Figure 4f–m and indicated that AGE suppresses the mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. As NF-κB signaling pathways are known to produce these proteins, the effects of AGE on the protein expression of IκBα and NF-κB p65 are shown in Figure 5f.