title: The role of amniotic fluid L-selectin, GRO-alpha, and interleukin-8 in the pathogenesis of intraamniotic infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our purpose was to compare and correlate amniotic fluid GRO-alpha, interleukin-8, and L-selectin in patients with and without intraamniotic infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Amniocentesis was performed on 45 pregnant women with preterm contractions, labor, or rupture of membranes. Fourteen patients had intraamniotic infection, and 31 did not. Intraamniotic infection was defined as the presence of a positive amniotic fluid culture. Amniotic fluid tests for Gram stain, glucose, neutrophil counts, creatinine, pH, and specific gravity were performed. Amniotic fluid levels of soluble L-selectin, interleukin-8, and GRO-alpha were measured by an enzyme-linked immunoassay and normalized by amniotic fluid creatinine levels. The Mann-Whitney Utest and Spearman's rank correlation test were used for statistical analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Amniotic fluid median levels of soluble L-selectin, interleukin-8, and GRO-alpha were significantly higher in pregnant women with intraamniotic infection than in those without intraamniotic infection (soluble L-selectin: median 3334.6 ng/mg creatinine, range 408.4 to 15,956.8 vs 717.2 ng/mg creatinine, range 129.4 to 4601.9, p = 0.009; GRO-alpha: median 841.6 ng/mg creatinine, range 28.1 to 8591.7 vs 56.8 ng/mg creatinine, range 0.0 to 440.2, p < 0.0001; interleukin-8: median 4932.7 ng/mg creatinine, range 0.0 to 55,058.7 vs 28.3 ng/mg creatinine, range 0.0 to 1161.6, p = 0.0004). Patients with intraamniotic infection had significantly higher amniotic fluid leukocyte counts and leukocyte esterase activities and significantly lower amniotic fluid glucose concentrations compared with those without intraamniotic infection. Amniotic fluid GRO-alpha, interleukin-8, and soluble L-selectin were positively correlated, and each was positively correlated with amniotic fluid leukocytes and negatively correlated with amniotic fluid levels of glucose.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data indicate amniotic fluid GRO-alpha and interleukin-8 may be two potent leukocyte chemoattractants and activators, and L-selectin is rapidly shed from leukocytes in the amniotic fluid in patients with intraamniotic infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8063, USA.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meaddough
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aversa
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Copel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000649:Amniocentesis; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D002265:Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases / Q000032:analysis; D054360:Chemokine CXCL1; D018925:Chemokines / Q000032:analysis*; D019743:Chemokines, CXC; D002630:Chemotactic Factors / Q000032:analysis*; D003404:Creatinine / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000032:analysis*; D019041:L-Selectin / Q000032:analysis*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D011247:Pregnancy; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: C475829:CXCL1 protein, human; D054360:Chemokine CXCL1; D018925:Chemokines; D019743:Chemokines, CXC; D002630:Chemotactic Factors; D006133:Growth Substances; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D016209:Interleukin-8; D019041:L-Selectin; D003404:Creatinine; C021443:leukocyte esterase; D002265:Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases; D005947:Glucose