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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
Second-trimester serum cytokines in women who develop spontaneous preterm labor at less than 28 weeks' gestation
Qing Yang1, Yasser El Sayed, Gary M Shaw
1Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5178, USA.
We sought to determine if there is a relationship between serum concentrations of cytokines and the development of preterm labor. A panel of 28 cytokines was measured using the multiplex assay in serum samples collected between 15 and 18 weeks' gestation from women who developed spontaneous preterm labor and delivered between 24 and 28 weeks' gestation (N = 25) and from women who delivered at term (>or=37 weeks; N = 25). Sixteen of the 28 cytokines measured were detected. Except for vascular endothelial growth factor, which showed a trend toward a significant increase in patients who developed preterm labor, there was no difference in cytokine levels between groups in preterm labor and in term labor. Serum cytokine changes in women who develop spontaneous preterm labor possibly occur in the period between 18 weeks' gestation and the onset of labor.
We sought to determine if there is a relationship between serum concentrations of cytokines and the development of preterm labor. A panel of 28 cytokines was measured using the multiplex assay in serum samples collected between 15 and 18 weeks' gestation from women who developed spontaneous preterm labor and delivered between 24 and 28 weeks' gestation (N = 25) and from women who delivered at term (>or=37 weeks; N = 25). Sixteen of the 28 cytokines measured were detected. Except for vascular endothelial growth factor, which showed a trend toward a significant increase in patients who developed preterm labor, there was no difference in cytokine levels between groups in preterm labor and in term labor. Serum cytokine changes in women who develop spontaneous preterm labor possibly occur in the period between 18 weeks' gestation and the onset of labor.
