Bonnah et al. [14] showed that the mRNA expression of several host genes involved in iron homeostasis were altered upon infection with meningococci, while Plant et al. [15] showed that there was an induction of chemokine receptors and cytokines such as CXCR-4, CXCR-5, IL1A, IL1B, IL18 and IFN-γ , with most of the host genes induced early in infection. Here, IL1A is linked to infection.