Maternal cytokine production patterns in women with pre-eclampsia.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the levels of cytokines produced upon mitogenic or antigenic stimulation of maternal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from women with pre-eclampsia.


METHODS
PBMC from 54 women with a history of successful pregnancy and 32 women undergoing pre-eclamptic delivery were stimulated with a mitogen or with autologous placental cells or with trophoblast antigens, and the levels of cytokines released into the culture supernatants then assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.


RESULTS
Significantly higher levels of the Th1 cytokines, interferon-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were produced by the pre-eclamptic group than by the normal pregnancy group, which on the contrary showed significantly greater production of the Th2 cytokines, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-6 and IL-10. A comparison of the ratios of Th2 to Th1 cytokines indicates a higher Th1 cytokine bias in pre-eclampsia as compared with normal pregnancy.


CONCLUSIONS
These data are suggestive of a maternal pro-inflammatory cytokine bias in pre-eclampsia.
Azizieh
Fawaz
F
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait.
Raghupathy
Raj
R
Makhseed
Ma'asoumah
M
D000328:Adult; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D037121:Plant Lectins / Q000494:pharmacology; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011247:Pregnancy
D016207:Cytokines; D037121:Plant Lectins