Interleukin-8 dysregulation is implicated in brain dysmaturation following preterm birth

Preterm birth is associated with dysconnectivity of structural brain networks, impaired cognition and psychiatric disease. Systemic inflammation contributes to cerebral dysconnectivity, but the immune mediators driving this association are poorly understood. We analysed information from placenta, umbilical cord and neonatal blood, and brain MRI to determine which immune mediators link perinatal systemic inflammation with dysconnectivity of structural brain networks.

Participants were 102 preterm infants (mean gestational age 29⁺¹ weeks, range 23⁺³-32⁺⁰). Placental histopathology identified reaction patterns indicative of histologic chorioamnionitis (HCA), and a customized immunoassay of 24 inflammation-associated proteins selected to reflect the neonatal innate and adaptive immune response was performed from umbilical cord (n = 55) and postnatal day 5 blood samples (n = 71). Brain MRI scans were acquired at term-equivalent age (41⁺⁰ weeks [range 38⁺⁰-44⁺⁴ weeks]) and alterations in white matter connectivity were inferred from mean diffusivity and neurite density index across the white matter skeleton.

HCA was associated with elevated concentrations of C5a, C9, CRP, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and MCP-1 in cord blood, and IL-8 concentration predicted HCA with an area under the receiver operator curve of 0.917 (95% CI 0.841 - 0.993, p < 0.001). Fourteen analytes explained 66% of the variance in the postnatal profile (BDNF, C3, C5a, C9, CRP, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, MCP-1, MIP-1β, MMP-9, RANTES and TNF-α). Of these, IL-8 was associated with altered neurite density index across the white matter skeleton after adjustment for gestational age at birth and at scan (β = 0.221, p = 0.037).

These findings suggest that IL-8 dysregulation has a role in linking perinatal systemic inflammation and atypical white matter development in preterm infants.