TNF and infection: These results support previous findings from clinical studies, documenting increased expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-8 in airway secretions, serum specimen and amniotic fluid of preterm and term infants and preterm deliveries, respectively, upon Ureaplasma colonization and/or infection (Groneck et al., 1996; Patterson et al., 1998; Yoon et al., 1998; Viscardi et al., 2004; Goldenberg et al., 2008; Viscardi and Hasday, 2009; Kasper et al., 2010; Oh et al., 2010; Kacerovsky et al., 2012).