title: Low serum interleukin-17 is associated with preterm delivery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study maternal serum interleukin-17 (IL-17) during normal pregnancy and evaluate the association with preterm delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three cohorts: (a) low-risk cohort of 1,069 women who had serum drawn in weeks 12 and 19, (b) subgroup of the low-risk cohort, consisting of 40 women, who had serum drawn at 12, 19, 26, 33 and 39 weeks of gestation and (c) a symptomatic cohort of 93 women admitted with symptoms of preterm delivery at a gestational age of 24(+ 0) weeks to 33(+ 6) weeks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum IL-17 determined by an in-house developed multiplex sandwich immunoassay.
  
  
  METHODS
  Preterm delivery <37(+0) weeks gestation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum IL-17 did not change during normal pregnancy. At admission to hospital, women with preterm contractions had significantly decreased serum IL-17 as compared with normal pregnancies (median <4 [interquartile ranges, IQR, <4-10 pg/ml] vs. 174 pg/ml [IQR, 92 - 485 pg/ml]); this difference was enhanced and highly significant for women delivering preterm versus term (median <4 [IQR, <4-7.9 pg/ml] vs. median 6.0 [IQR, <4-221 pg/ml]; p-value 0.03). Serum IL-17 was also lower in women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes. A slightly, but not statistically significant decrease was found in weeks 12 and 19 in low-risk women who subsequently delivered preterm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal serum IL-17 may be involved in preterm delivery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Denmark. lenehee@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Lene
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hee
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kirkegaard
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: Poul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thorsen
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Skogstrand
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Hougaard
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uldbjerg
authors.forename: Puk
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sandager
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood*; D007743:Labor, Obstetric / Q000097:blood; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D020381:Interleukin-17