Plasma interleukin-18 (IL-18) levels are correlated with antioxidant vitamin coenzyme Q(10) in preeclampsia.
OBJECTIVE
Alteration of cytokines level and oxidative stress are both associated with preeclampsia (PE). We have investigated if IL-6 and IL-18 levels were related to coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)), an antioxidant and a marker of oxidative stress in the plasma from normotensive and preeclamptic pregnancies.


METHODS
IL-6 and IL-18 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in plasmas from preeclamptic (n = 29) and normotensive pregnancies (n = 30). The concentrations of CoQ(10) in the different redox forms were measured in plasma using liquid chromatography coupled to electrochemical detection. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test and correlations were obtained by the Spearman's Rho test.


METHODS
IL-6 concentrations were 2.8-fold higher in preeclamptic plasmas than in controls (p = 0.0006), and IL-18 concentrations were found significantly lower in preeclamptic samples than in controls (p = 0.007). No correlation was found between IL-18 or IL-6 and antioxidant vitamin CoQ(10) in plasmas from normotensive pregnant women. However, in PE, IL-18 level was positively correlated with the reduced form of CoQ(10) (r = 0.3680, p = 0.0495).


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first demonstration that IL-18 is potentially linked to oxidative stress in PE, since its level correlates with the concentration of the powerful antioxidant CoQ(10). These results also associate the immune system with the oxidant/antioxidant imbalance observed in PE.
Roland
Linda
L
CHUQ-CHUL Research Center, Ontogeny and Reproduction, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Gagné
Amélie
A
Bélanger
Marie-Claire
MC
Boutet
Marianne
M
Julien
Pierre
P
Bilodeau
Jean-François
JF
D000328:Adult; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000097:blood*
D020382:Interleukin-18; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014451:Ubiquinone