IL6 and infection: One, three, five, and seven days post-infection, the corneal lesions and inflammatory responses were observed by slit-lamp and histopathology, and the expressions of the four inflammatory cytokines, macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (KC), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), in the infected corneas were determined using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).