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Interleukin-6 levels in umbilical artery serum in normal and abnormal pregnancies
G Galazios1, D Papazoglou, K Giagloglou
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
Objective:
The aim of our study was to determine the correlation of abnormal umbilical artery interleukin-6 levels with pregnancies complicated by preterm delivery and pre-eclampsia.
Method:
Cord serum (umbilical artery) was collected at delivery by cesarean section or spontaneous delivery. Samples were retrieved from patients with normal and abnormal pregnancies. Patients were divided into three groups: group 1, a control group of samples from uncomplicated pregnancies (n = 24); group 2, patients with pre-eclampsia (n = 21); and group 3, patients having had preterm delivery (n = 29). Interleukin-6 was measured by bioassays. Statistics were performed with the Mann-Whitney U-, Student's t- and the Kruskal-Wallis tests.
Results:
Interleukin-6 levels in women with preterm delivery were statistically higher compared to those of normal pregnancies (P < 0.05) and lower in the cord serum of pre-eclamptic when compared to those of normal pregnancies (P < 0.05).
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we believe that further investigations could elucidate the role of this pleiotropic cytokine in both, normal and pathologic reproductive biology, and determine the clinical utility of IL-6 measurements in obstetric practice.