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Published on: April 30, 2018
Progesterone-induced blocking factor and cytokine profile in women with threatened pre-term delivery
Igor Hudić1, Zlatan Fatusić, Julia Szekeres-Bartho
1Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Clinical Center, Trnovac bb, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. i.hudic@bih.net.ba
Problem:
The objective of this study was to compare serum concentrations of progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF), anti-inflammatory (IL-10),and pro-inflammatory (IL-6, TNFa, and IFNc) cytokines of women with threatened pre-term delivery, with those of women with normal pregnancy and to evaluate the impact of PIBF on the outcome of pregnancy.
Method Of Study:
A prospective study was conducted on a sample of 30 women with threatened pre-term delivery (study group) and 20 healthy pregnant women (control group) between the 24th and 37th gestational weeks. Serum PIBF, anti-inflammatory (IL-10), and pro-inflammatory (IL-6, TNFa, and IFNc) cytokine concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results:
Thirteen of 30 patients (43.3%) with symptoms of threatened pre-term delivery, and one of 20 patients (5%) in the control group delivered before the 37th week of gestation. Mean PIBF concentrations in serum samples of patients with threatened pre-term delivery were significantly lower than in those of healthy pregnant women (171.12 +/-162.06 ng/mL versus 272.85 +/- 114.87 ng/mL; P < 0.05).Women with symptoms of threatened pre-term delivery had significantly lower serum levels of IL-10, and higher levels of IL-6 as well as IFNc compared with healthy controls.
Conclusion:
Our results indicate that measuring PIBF and cytokine concentrations in serum during pregnancy is feasible and may be important for understanding immunological causes of pre-term delivery.
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