IL7 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Other myokines can also play a role in the control of muscle mass, most of which having not been thoroughly investigated in COPD, such as IL-4 (promoting myoblast fusion in vitro) [61], IL-7, which secretion by skeletal muscle gradually decreases with age [20], or irisin, known to decrease oxidant-induced apoptosis in diabetes mellitus, and recently reported to be decreased in COPD serum [62].