Zhao, Hu (98) demonstrated that a high mobility group box 1 homolog from red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) could function as a secreted cytokine in response to bacterial infection and promote innate defense through the activation of macrophages, and Xie, Hodgkinson (99) reported that in goldfish (Carassius auratus), high mobility group box 1 is a critical regulatory cytokine of inflammatory and antimicrobial response. Here, HMGB1 is linked to bacterial infectious disease.