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. 2011 Feb;53(2):170-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2010.11.005. Epub 2010 Nov 30.

Longitudinal modulation of immune system cytokine profile during pregnancy

Jeffrey M Denney  1 , Edward L Nelson, Pathik D Wadhwa, Thaddeus P Waters, Leny Mathew, Esther K Chung, Robert L Goldenberg, Jennifer F Culhane
Affiliations

Longitudinal modulation of immune system cytokine profile during pregnancy

Jeffrey M Denney et al. Cytokine. 2011 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: To characterize immune modulation as expressed by cytokine assays at three time-points in human pregnancy.

Study design: This is a prospective, longitudinal study of a broad panel of cytokine expression during singleton pregnancies resulting in an uncomplicated, full-term, live births. Peripheral blood was obtained at 8-14, 18-22, and 28-32 weeks gestation. Six cytokines - IFN-γ, IL-4, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 - were measured in supernatants obtained from whole blood stimulations with PHA or LPS and were compared to unstimulated controls. Samples were processed by Luminex-100 MAP®. We used Generalized Linear Models (GLM) to evaluate cytokine trajectories.

Results: Complete data were obtained for 45 uncomplicated pregnancies. Overall, peripheral blood WBC's demonstrated dampened cytokine responses. However, over the course of pregnancy, we found enhanced counter-regulatory cytokine expression (e.g., shown by increased IL-10).

Conclusion: The overall decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines and increase in counter-regulatory cytokines as uncomplicated pregnancy progresses supports the evolving concepts of immunoregulation for the maintenance of a viable pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author’s disclosure: All of the authors state that they have no financial interests that would be viewed as a potential conflict of interest. Moreover, we report that the data contained in this study has not been presented in any other published manuscript. These data were presented as an oral session on February 2, 2008 at the Annual Pregnancy Meeting for the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Dallas, Texas and published in abstract format in the December 2007 edition of The American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Th1 Response Over Gestation *GLM models for IFN-γ in each incubation condition.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Th2 Response *GLM models for IL-4 expression in each incubation condition.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 3a: Pleiotrophic Pro-inflammatory Response *GLM models for TNF-α expression in each incubation condition. Figure 3b: Pleiotrophic Pro-inflammatory Response *GLM models for IL1β expression in each incubation condition. Figure 3c: Pleiotrophic Pro-inflammatory Response *GLM models for IL-6 expression in each incubation condition.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 3a: Pleiotrophic Pro-inflammatory Response *GLM models for TNF-α expression in each incubation condition. Figure 3b: Pleiotrophic Pro-inflammatory Response *GLM models for IL1β expression in each incubation condition. Figure 3c: Pleiotrophic Pro-inflammatory Response *GLM models for IL-6 expression in each incubation condition.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 3a: Pleiotrophic Pro-inflammatory Response *GLM models for TNF-α expression in each incubation condition. Figure 3b: Pleiotrophic Pro-inflammatory Response *GLM models for IL1β expression in each incubation condition. Figure 3c: Pleiotrophic Pro-inflammatory Response *GLM models for IL-6 expression in each incubation condition.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Counter-Regulatory Response *GLM models for IL-10 expression in each incubation condition.
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