IL-6 and its secreted receptor sIL-6Rα are increasingly recognized as master cytokines (28, 29), upstream of a wide array of inflammatory processes, including pathologies as diverse as cytokine release syndrome (30), SARS-CoV2 acute respiratory distress (31), acute allograft rejection (32), rheumatoid arthritis (33), asbestosis (34) and cachexia (35). Here, IL6 is linked to asbestosis.