As can be seen in Figure 3A, similarly to the results obtained during the microarray analyses (Additional file 1: Table S1), expression of the genes cxcl3, il8, tnf, and nfkbiz (encoding for IκBζ) was elevated after neisserial infection with the strongest effect caused by the MC58siaD− strain (α14 < MC58 < MC58siadD−). The gene discussed is CXCL3; the disease is infection.