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Clinical Trial
. 2018 Dec 4;13(12):e0207266.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207266. eCollection 2018.

Cervico-vaginal inflammatory cytokine alterations after intrauterine contraceptive device insertion: A pilot study

Priya Sharma  1 , Kamnoosh Shahabi  2 , Rachel Spitzer  3 , Michele Farrugia  3 , Rupert Kaul  2 , Mark Yudin  4
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Cervico-vaginal inflammatory cytokine alterations after intrauterine contraceptive device insertion: A pilot study

Priya Sharma et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

In a prospective study of twenty sexually transmitted infection (STI)-free women, we examined the impact of an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) insertion on cervico-vaginal cytokine levels. Nine women chose the levonorgestrel-containing IUCD and eight chose a copper IUCD. A cervico-vaginal swab was collected for cytokine analysis pre-insertion and four weeks post-insertion. Significant increases were noted in levels of IL-1α (median 483.4 versus 316.6 pg/mL, p = 0.046), IL-1β (median 605.7 versus 147.3 pg/mL, p = 0.018), IL-6 (median 570.1 versus 157.3 pg/mL, p = 0.046), TNFα (median 1.19 versus 0.6 pg/mL, p = 0.029) and the chemokine MCP-1 (median 340.2 versus 135.2 pg/mL, p = 0.003). No significant changes were noted in the levels of GM-CSF, IL-8, MIG, MIP-3α, RANTES, IL-10, IL-17, IP-10, MIP-1β. Whether this increase in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels decreases epithelial barrier integrity and enhances susceptibility to STIs, including HIV, merits further study.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Cervicovaginal cytokine levels before and after IUCD insertion.
IUCD–Intrauterine Contraceptive Device Levels of several cytokines were assayed in cervicovaginal samples prior to and one month after IUCD insertion (labeled as ‘Baseline’ and ‘Post-IUCD’ respectively). Lines represent levels over time in each of 20 participants; statistical comparisons used the Wilcoxon test for paired samples.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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