Wang et al. (131) compared the necrotic segments of intestinal tissue with adjacent normal intestinal segments (in a control setting) and found that TRAF6 and CXCL8/IL-8 were significantly upregulated in both NEC intestinal tissues and serum, suggesting their potential as important predictive factors for the early diagnosis of NEC. This evidence concerns the gene CXCL8 and necrotizing enterocolitis.