title: Evidence of a TH1-shift of local vaginal inflammatory response during bacterial vaginosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the vagina of healthy women and in bacterial vaginosis (BV) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interleukin (IL)-1alpha, 1beta, 5 and 10 were analyzed by ELISA in vaginal wash fluids from 50 non-pregnant patients with BV and 112 healthy women.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Levels of IL-1beta were higher and those of IL-10 lower in BV-patients than in healthy women. There was a tendency towards higher levels of IL-1alpha in BV patients, but these data were not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found evidence for a shift towards a TH1-dominated vaginal cytokine profile in the pathogenesis of BV. Levels of a TH1-cytokine were elevated and those of a TH2-cytokine lowered in BV-patients as compared to healthy controls. This points to a vaginal TH1-response during BV and to the importance of cell-mediated immunity in local vaginal infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anton
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rid
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mylonas
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Friese
authors.forename: E-R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Weissenbacher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007378:Interleukins / Q000032:analysis*; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D014621:Vagina / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007378:Interleukins