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Review
. 2021 Feb 23:2021:6649608.
doi: 10.1155/2021/6649608. eCollection 2021.

Maternal Serum Cytokine Concentrations in Healthy Pregnancy and Preeclampsia

Toni Spence  1 , Philip J Allsopp  1 , Alison J Yeates  1 , Maria S Mulhern  1 , J J Strain  1 , Emeir M McSorley  1
Affiliations
Review

Maternal Serum Cytokine Concentrations in Healthy Pregnancy and Preeclampsia

Toni Spence et al. J Pregnancy. .

Abstract

The maternal immune response is essential for successful pregnancy, promoting immune tolerance to the fetus while maintaining innate and adaptive immunity. Uncontrolled, increased proinflammatory responses are a contributing factor to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. The Th1/Th2 cytokine shift theory, characterised by bias production of Th2 anti-inflammatory cytokine midgestation, was frequently used to reflect the maternal immune response in pregnancy. This theory is simplistic as it is based on limited information and does not consider the role of other T cell subsets, Th17 and Tregs. A range of maternal peripheral cytokines have been measured in pregnancy cohorts, albeit the changes in individual cytokine concentrations across gestation is not well summarised. Using available data, this review was aimed at summarising changes in individual maternal serum cytokine concentrations throughout healthy pregnancy and evaluating their association with preeclampsia. We report that TNF-α increases as pregnancy progresses, IL-8 decreases in the second trimester, and IL-4 concentrations remain consistent throughout gestation. Lower second trimester IL-10 concentrations may be an early predictor for developing preeclampsia. Proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-8, and IL-6) are significantly elevated in preeclampsia. More research is required to determine the usefulness of using cytokines, particularly IL-10, as early biomarkers of pregnancy health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of the literature search and papers retained or excluded. ⱡIncluding four additional papers identified from references. ∗Other biological samples: e.g., plasma, whole blood, CSF, and PBMCs; not pregnant or not relevant: e.g., IVF, recurrent miscarriage, fertile and infertile women, and infection or periodontitis/gingivitis; not relevant peripheral cytokines: e.g., gene polymorphisms or expression; other included not healthy pregnancy or preeclampsia and adolescent or twin pregnancy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
An illustration summarising the changes in the maternal serum cytokine profile in healthy pregnancy and preeclampsia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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