title: Protein microarrays on midtrimester amniotic fluids: a novel approach for the diagnosis of early intrauterine inflammation related to preterm delivery.
abstract: Novel technologies that allow simultaneous assessment of multiple biomarkers provide new and promising diagnostic/prognostic approaches. By protein microarrays, here we analyzed amniotic fluids (AF) from 50 women with preterm delivery (PTD) and 50 control women, who delivered at term. In detail, cytokines, chemokines, matrix metalloproteinases and antigen-specific antibodies were assessed. The AF analysis showed significant differences between women with preterm and term delivery in the levels of IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, IFN-gamma and anti-HSV2 IgG. No significant differences were observed in the levels of TNF-alpha, MMP-2, MMP-9 and specific IgG for seven vertically transmitted pathogens. In conclusion, we demonstrated the feasibility of protein microarrays in the diagnosis of early intrauterine inflammation. The significant association between the increased levels of certain cytokines and preterm delivery argues on their relevance as early pathogenetic markers for identification of risk patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Istituto Tecnologie Avanzate e Modelli Assistenziali in Oncologia-IRCCS, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: La Sala
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ardizzoni
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Capodanno
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manca
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Baschieri
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Soncini
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peppoloni
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blasi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D002821:Chorioamnionitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000209:etiology*; D040081:Protein Array Analysis / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines