Porphyromonas Gingivalis and E-coli induce different cytokine production patterns in pregnant women.
OBJECTIVE
Pregnant individuals of many species, including humans, are more sensitive to various bacteria or their products as compared with non-pregnant individuals. Pregnant individuals also respond differently to different bacteria or their products. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated whether the increased sensitivity of pregnant women to bacterial products and their heterogeneous response to different bacteria was associated with differences in whole blood cytokine production upon stimulation with bacteria or their products.


METHODS
Blood samples were taken from healthy pregnant and age-matched non-pregnant women and ex vivo stimulated with bacteria or LPS from Porphyromonas Gingivalis (Pg) or E-coli for 24 hrs. TNFα, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-10 were measured using a multiplex Luminex system.


RESULTS
We observed a generally lower cytokine production after stimulation with Pg bacteria or it's LPS as compared with E-coli bacteria. However, there was also an effect of pregnancy upon cytokine production: in pregnant women the production of IL-6 upon Pg stimulation was decreased as compared with non-pregnant women. After stimulation with E-coli, the production of IL-12 and TNFα was decreased in pregnant women as compared with non-pregnant women.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results showed that cytokine production upon bacterial stimulation of whole blood differed between pregnant and non-pregnant women, showing that the increased sensitivity of pregnant women may be due to differences in cytokine production. Moreover, pregnancy also affected whole blood cytokine production upon Pg or E-coli stimulation differently. Thus, the different responses of pregnant women to different bacteria or their products may result from variations in cytokine production.
Division of Medical Biology, Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Marijke M
MM
Faas
Department of Periodontology, Center for Dentistry and Oral Hygiene, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands ; School of Health Care Studies, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Alina
A
Kunnen
Division of Medical Biology, Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Daphne C
DC
Dekker
Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Hermie J M
HJ
Harmsen
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Jan G
JG
Aarnoudse
Department of Periodontology, Center for Dentistry and Oral Hygiene, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Frank
F
Abbas
Division of Medical Biology, Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Paul
P
De Vos
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Maria G
MG
Van Pampus
D000328:Adult; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000276:immunology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
D016207:Cytokines; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4