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. 2019 May;33(4):e22834.
doi: 10.1002/jcla.22834. Epub 2019 Jan 21.

Association of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in preeclampsia

Ruby Aggarwal  1   2 , Arun Kumar Jain  2 , Pratima Mittal  3 , Mangala Kohli  1 , Poonam Jawanjal  1 , Gayatri Rath  1
Affiliations

Association of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in preeclampsia

Ruby Aggarwal et al. J Clin Lab Anal. 2019 May.

Abstract

Introduction: The pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines play crucial role in the development and functions of placenta. Any changes in these cytokines may be associated with many pregnancy-related disorders like preeclampsia. Therefore, the present study is aimed to study the expression of pro-inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-6) and anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-10) cytokines in placenta and serum of preeclamptic pregnant women.

Material and methods: For this study, a total of 194 cases of preeclamptic and control cases were enrolled in two Groups as per the gestational age that is, Group I (28-36 weeks) and II (37 weeks onwards). The number of samples was 55 in Group I and 139 in Group II. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were conducted on placenta and serum of both preeclamptic and normal samples, respectively. IHC results were revalidated by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR).

Results: Both Groups (I, II) of preeclampsia showed amended levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in placental tissues and serum samples. The levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly increased in preeclamptic cases (P = 0.0001, P = 0.0001) while the IL-4 and IL-10 were downregulated (P = 0.0001, P = 0.0001) in comparison to control. In addition, a negative correlation was also observed between the two in preeclampsia (P = 0.0001).

Conclusion: The balanced ratio of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines is essential to regulate the maternal inflammation system throughout pregnancy. Therefore, the gradual cytokine profiling of the pregnant women may be useful for the management of preeclampsia.

Keywords: IL-10; IL-4; IL-6; TNF-α; cytokines; placenta; preeclampsia; serum.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Immunohistochemical expression of pro‐inflammatory cytokines (Magnification: 400×). IL‐6: A, C control placenta (35 wks, 38 wks) showing mild cytoplasmic expression in syncytiotrophoblast (ST); B, D, preeclamptic placenta (32 wks, 38 wks) showing moderate cytoplasmic expression in ST. TNF‐α: E, G control placenta (35 wks, 38 wks) showing mild cytoplasmic expression in ST; F, H preeclamptic placenta (35 wks, 38 wks) showing moderate cytoplasmic expression in ST
Figure 2
Figure 2
Immunohistochemical expression of anti‐inflammatory cytokines (Magnification: 400×). IL‐4: A, C control placenta (35 wks, 38 wks) showing moderate cytoplasmic expression in ST; B, D, preeclamptic placenta (35 wks, 38 wks) showing mild cytoplasmic expression in ST. IL‐10: E, G, control placenta (35 wks, 38 wks) showing moderate cytoplasmic expression in ST; F, H preeclamptic placenta (32 wks, 38 wks) showing mild cytoplasmic expression in ST
Figure 3
Figure 3
Reverse transcriptase PCR analysis of the preeclamptic (P) and normal (N) placental tissues on representative samples. A, mRNA transcripts of all proteins where N1, P1 represents Group I samples and N2, N3, P2, P3 represents Group II samples. β‐actin was used as control. B, Quantification of the mRNA transcripts of IL‐6, TNF‐α, IL‐4, IL‐10 where the values in the curve represents the percentage of the samples
Figure 4
Figure 4
Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve showing the expression of serum IL‐6, TNF‐α, IL‐4, IL‐10 to differentiate preeclamptic Group from control. A, B, Group I and Group II of IL‐6; C, D, Group I and Group II of TNF‐α; E, F, Group I and Group II of IL‐4; G, H, Group I and Group II of IL‐10
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