CXCL8 and CXCL1 gene expression was upregulated in decidual stromal cells from three out of six of the women with SLE compared with controls (figure 3C, D, p=0.23 and p=0.39, respectively), which corresponds to the interindividual variation in CXCL8 and CXCL1 levels in intervillous blood. Here, CXCL1 is linked to systemic lupus erythematosus.