title: Cytokines in normal and abnormal parturition: elevated amniotic fluid interleukin-6 levels in women with premature rupture of membranes associated with intrauterine infection.
abstract: The participation of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the pathophysiology of normal and abnormal human parturition was evaluated by determining IL-6 concentrations in amniotic fluid (AF). Biologically active IL-6 was determined (in U/ml) using the B9 hybridoma growth factor assay, while the concentrations of immunoreactive IL-6 species (in pg/ml) were assessed using a monoclonal antibody (moAb)-based ELISA. Two hundred and twenty-seven AF samples from women in normal labor and from those presenting with a clinical diagnosis of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) were assayed. In selected instances, IL-6 levels were evaluated simultaneously in AF and in maternal and fetal plasma. Women with a normal pregnancy had low titers of biologically active IL-6 in AF both at midtrimester (group 1, n = 27; median IL-6 concentration = 16 U/ml) and at term (group 2, n = 33; median = 15 U/ml). There was an increase in the IL-6 bioactivity in AF from women in normal labor at term (group 3, n = 40; median = 74 U/ml; p less than 0.001). In order to distinguish between the relative contributions of parturition per se and of intrauterine infection to the elevation of biologically active IL-6 levels in AF, IL-6 titers were compared in four different groups of women with PROM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Santhanam
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Avila
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Viguet
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ida
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Sehgal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D001681:Biological Assay; D015415:Biomarkers; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005322:Premature Rupture of Fetal Membranes / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000032:analysis*; D008423:Maternal Age; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D018566:Pregnancy, High-Risk; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6