title: Detection of interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and interleukin-11 in plasma from women with spontaneous abortion.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the role of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-11 in the immune-regulatory mechanisms involved in the spontaneous abortion of the first trimester of pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-11 were determined in 68 women who had a spontaneous abortion of unknown aetiology during the first trimester of pregnancy. They were compared with the corresponding levels of 73 age-matched pregnant women who had an uneventful pregnancy, and 52 age-matched non-pregnant women. All enrolled women presented without any severe disease, syndrome or recent infection. Cytokine levels were measured by a sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The women with spontaneous abortion had significantly decreased plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-11 compared to those with normal pregnancies (P<0.05). The non-pregnant women had no detectable cytokine levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reduced plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-11 in women with spontaneous abortion may be related to the underlying aetiopathogenetic mechanisms, however, there is no sufficient evidence for their use as predictive markers of pregnancy outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koumantaki
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matalliotakis
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sifakis
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kyriakou
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neonaki
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goymenou
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koumantakis
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000097:blood*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017370:Interleukin-11 / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D017370:Interleukin-11; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016209:Interleukin-8