We therefore first determined the levels of a panel of markers (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, TNF, RANTES, MIG, MCP-1, IP-10, IFN-α, IFN-γ, Ang-1, Ang-2, uPAR and VEGF R1/Flt1) in the plasmas of 79 women who remained infection-free from inclusion through to delivery (Fig. 1). The gene discussed is CXCL8; the disease is infection.