IL6 and infection: To test our hypothesis that SpoVG alters the inflammatory response of the host at the infection site, we assayed the contents of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and of the neutrophil chemoattractant keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC) in tissue homogenates obtained from excised tissues surrounding the catheter fragments of S. epidermidis-infected mice at day 10 post infection.