Infection of HCAEC with the septicemic S. agalactiae strain ATCC® 13813 led to HMOX-1 upregulation, compared to unstimulated cells (2.3-fold after 4 hours, 4.7-fold after 8 hours, and 6.6-fold after 24 hours of infection, Figure 2). This evidence concerns the gene HMOX1 and infection.