Harald Renz, Cathrin Wilke, Ismail Tekesin, Lars Hellmeyer, Udo Herz, Stephan Schmidt
Suppression of IL-2 and IFN-? production in women with spontaneous preterm labor
Aims: To determine the TH-1/TH-2 cytokine pattern in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) in late second- and third trimester in normal pregnancies, in comparison to patients with spontaneous preterm delivery (PTD; <37 completed weeks' gestation).
Methods: A cross-sectional retrospective study was performed in a tertiary care obstetric unit with healthy non-pregnant women (n=7); healthy pregnant women (n=25); patients (n=25) with preterm labor (defined as uterine contractions or changes in cervical length). The phenotypic analysis of TH-1/TH-2 immune deviation was examined in PBL.
Results: 26% PTD (n=13) were recorded. Patients delivering at term (n=37, 74%) were characterized by an upregulation of IL-2, IFN-? and IL-4 production during weeks 20–25, followed by a strong suppression in cytokine production, except for TGF-?. Towards the end of pregnancy cytokine levels returned to normal as observed in non-pregnant women. In contrast, PTD showed an inverse pattern for IL-2 and IFN-? with marked suppression in IL-2 and IFN-? production between weeks 20–25, followed by a strong stimulation of these cytokines. No differences were observed in IL-4 and TGF-? production.
Conclusion: An inverse pattern in IL-2 and IFN-? production in PBLs between weeks 20–30 is seen in PTD as compared to patients delivering at term.
Journal of Perinatal Medicine, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 1619-3997
Volume: 34, 02/2006
Pages: 20 - 27
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