About the Authors

Till Ploenes

Affiliation Division of Thoracic Surgery, University, Medical Centre Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Ben Scholtes

Affiliation Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Pneumology, University Medical Centre Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Alexander Krohn

Affiliation Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Oncology and Hematology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Meike Burger

Affiliation Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Oncology and Hematology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Bernward Passlick

Affiliation Division of Thoracic Surgery, University, Medical Centre Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Joachim Müller-Quernheim

Affiliation Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Pneumology, University Medical Centre Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Gernot Zissel

gernot.zissel@uniklinik-freiburg.de

Affiliation Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Pneumology, University Medical Centre Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Competing Interests

The authors have the following interests. J.M.Q. and G.Z. have applied for a patent on CCL18 and CCL18R as biomarker and therapy target (patent pending). G.Z. is a PLOS ONE Editorial Board member. There are no further patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: TP GZ. Performed the experiments: BS TP. Analyzed the data: TP BS GZ. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: MB AK BP JMQ. Wrote the paper: TP GZ.