IL1B and bacterial vaginosis: Several studies have shown that females with clinical BV or low Lactobacillus abundance and high diversity of anaerobes also harbor higher concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in their genital tract (Anahtar et al., 2015) and higher levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, and IL-8) when compared to BV-negative women (Kyongo et al., 2015).