CXCL8 and infection: Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) act not only as a barrier to gut pathogens, but as an essential element of the mucosal innate immune system by the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and antimicrobial peptides following infection with Salmonella. Antimicrobial peptides, such as human β–defensins-2 (hBD-2), are secreted to kill the microorganisms at mucosal surfaces, while chemokines, such as interleukin-8 (IL-8), promote the transmigration of basolateral neutrophils to the intestinal lumen and induction of diarrhea, and give rise to the characteristic pathology of colitis [3].