As determined by ELISA analyses, HSV-2 WT infection strongly enhanced the production of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8 and CCL2, but the levels of these proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines were inhibited in End1/E6E7 cells which were infected with the Us2 mutant of HSV-2 (Fig. 1A–D). Here, IL6 is linked to infection.