Bone marrow-derived macrophages were stimulated with recombinant IL-6 (R&D), IL-4, IL-10 (both from PeproTech) or E. coli-derived lipopolysaccharides (LPS O55:B5; Sigma). For pre-incubation experiments, cells were incubated with 50 ng/ml IL-6 for 12 or 24 hours and subsequently exposed to either IL-4 or LPS alone or in combination with IL-6 for the indicated time points. For antibody-mediated neutralization of IL-10, cells were preincubated for 1 hour with either isotype control (10 μg/ml Purified NA/LE Rat IgG1, #554682 BD Pharmingen) or anti-IL10 antibody (10 μg/ml Purified NA/LE Rat Anti-Mouse IL-10, #554421) and subsequently exposed to IL-6 (50ng/ml) or IL-10 (10ng/ml) in the presence of either isotype control or anti-IL10 antibody for 12 hours. BMDM were transfected with 600 pmol of siRNA oligos against Stat3, Il6ra or a nontargeting control (all LifeTechnologies) as previously described40 (link).