“…CXCR1 is specific for IL-8 (40,41), and within this study we have found that IL-8 interacts with glycosylated AAT, but rather than facilitating IL-8 activity, physiological concentrations of AAT inhibit CXCR1 engagement of up to 20 ng of IL-8, thereby preventing downstream signaling events including Akt phosphorylation, calcium flux, and chemoattractant-induced cytoskeletal rearrangements. This antiinflammatory effect is not exclusive to AAT, as it has also been reported that the plasma glycoprotease inhibitor α-2 macroglobulin creates a complex with IL-8, resulting in reduced neutrophil infiltration into the lungs compared with IL-8 controls (42). AAT and α-2 macroglobulin are acute-phase reactants, and as both proteins show a rise in mean value after infection, it is tempting to speculate that the increased levels of both serum proteins function to dampen down the inflammatory response after infection by binding and inactivating IL-8 activity.…”