Interestingly, the content of some pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators in saliva significantly exceeds their plasma levels (control: IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-7, IL-1ra, INF-γ, IL-12, IL-4, IL-6, MCP-1/CCL-2, IL-8/CXCL8, GM-CSF, VEGF; HF: IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-7, IL-10, IL-1RA, IL-13, INF-γ, IL-12, IL-4, IL-9, IP-10/CXCL10, MCP-1/CCL-2, IL-8/CXCL8, GM-CSF, VEGF, FGF basic, PDFG-BB), which may confirm previous reports on the production of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors within the salivary glands (25, 44, 45). Here, IL4 is linked to hydrops fetalis.