... Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. 3. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. 4. Department of Anatomy II: Experimental Morphology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, ... TCT GGT AGG AGA CG-3’ for the downstream primer. PCR amplification for β-actin was performed for 36 cycles (1 min at 94ºC, 1 min at 60ºC, 40 sec at 72ºC) and for TNFα for 40 cycles (1 min at 94°C, ... (vital capacity, VC, forced expiratory volume in one second, FEV1), arte-rial oxygen pressure, inflammatory markers (C reac-tive protein, IgG, IgE), liver function tests (GOT, GPT) and cytokine measurements...