IL6R and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: For example, ADAM17 – a key sheddase that cleaves various cell surface proteins – may modulate inflammation in COPD pathogenesis by cleaving key cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) and interleukin‐6‐receptor (IL‐6R), thereby enhancing proinflammatory signalling and promoting lung cell damage [38, 39].