In the study reported by Zhang et al. [43], the authors found that HMGB1 was responsible for the inflammatory response induced by A. fumigatus in COPD alveolar macrophages; in this study, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-33 were significantly increased in COPD + AF compared to COPD. Here, IL6 is linked to atrial fibrillation.