VEGFA and infection: Based on their respective roles during pregnancy19–22, the levels of selected cytokines (IL-6, IL-15, IL-18, TNF-α, and sICAM-1), chemokines (CCL-3, CCL-4, CCL-5, and CXCL-10), growth factors (G-CSF, GM-CSF, and VEGF-A), and metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) were quantified in tissue culture supernatants 2 days post infection (Fig. 3).