Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2012:2012:967629.
doi: 10.1155/2012/967629. Epub 2012 Jun 7.

The Th1:th2 dichotomy of pregnancy and preterm labour

Lynne Sykes  1 , David A MacIntyre, Xiao J Yap, Tiong Ghee Teoh, Phillip R Bennett
Affiliations
Review

The Th1:th2 dichotomy of pregnancy and preterm labour

Lynne Sykes et al. Mediators Inflamm. 2012.

Abstract

Pregnancy is a unique immunological state in which a balance of immune tolerance and suppression is needed to protect the fetus without compromising the mother. It has long been established that a bias from the T helper 1 cytokine profile towards the T helper 2 profile contributes towards successful pregnancy maintenance. The majority of publications that report on aberrant Th1:Th2 balance focus on early pregnancy loss and preeclampsia. Over the last few decades, there has been an increased awareness of the role of infection and inflammation in preterm labour, and the search for new biomarkers to predict preterm labour continues. In this paper, we explore the evidence for an aberrant Th1:Th2 profile associated with preterm labour. We also consider the potential for its use in screening women at high risk of preterm labour and for prophylactic therapeutic measures for the prevention of preterm labour and associated neonatal adverse outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of the adaptive and innate immune system in pregnancy. Mediators of the adaptive and innate immune system work in parallel to facilitate a balance between immune tolerance of the fetus whilst maintaining the ability to mount a response against invading pathogens. PWBC: peripheral white blood cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kanellopoulos-Langevin C, Caucheteux SM, Verbeke P, Ojcius DM. Tolerance of the fetus by the maternal immune system: role of inflammatory mediators at the feto-maternal interface. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. 2003;1:p. 121. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sykes L, Maclntyre DA, Teoh TG, Benntte PR. Targeting immune activation in the prevention of preterm labour. European Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2011;6(2):100–106.
    1. van Nieuwenhoven ALV, Heineman MJ, Faas MM. The immunology of successful pregnancy. Human Reproduction Update. 2003;9(4):347–357. - PubMed
    1. Haig D. Genetic conflicts in human pregnancy. The Quarterly Review of Biology. 1993;68(4):495–532. - PubMed
    1. Thellin O, Heinen E. Pregnancy and the immune system: between tolerance and rejection. Toxicology. 2003;185(3):179–184. - PubMed

Publication types