MMP8 and infection: After 14 days of infection, there were 257 genes with greater expression in nociceptor-ablated mice (e.g., Vegfa, IL1a, IL1b, and Tnf) compared to 219 genes with greater expression in control mice (e.g., Alox5, Car2, Ccl5, Elane, and Mmp8) (Fig. 2B).