CXCL8 and bacterial vaginosis: Studies examining the impact of vaginal microbiomes on inflammatory states found that women with clinical BV or molecular BV (i.e., CT4 microbial communities) had higher cervicovaginal levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, and IL-8) than BV-negative or Lactobacillus-dominant women, respectively (Masson et al., 2014; Gosmann et al., 2017; Joag et al., 2019).