CHI3L1 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: In a study comparing sputum biomarkers in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in which patients with COPD comprised one of the control groups, Guiot et al. demonstrated that sputum neutrophil count was significantly higher in patients with IPF and those with COPD compared to healthy controls, however, both sputum levels of YKL-40 and YKL-40 expression did not differ between the groups [22].