IL6 and pulmonary fibrosis: In the present study, we found that QFHXD treatment significantly decreased the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and MPO, and alleviated the degree of pulmonary fibrosis as evidenced by in vivo Micro-CT analysis, H&E staining, MT staining and Sirius red staining, which was at least partly via downregulating PI3K/Akt/NF-κB pathway.