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Updated: Jul 26, 2026
Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
Inflammatory cytokines in maternal serum between women with threatened miscarriage and normal pregnancy
Lawal Adewale Hakeem1, Yusuf Olatunji Bello2,3, Gbolahan O Obajimi1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine/University College Hospital Ibadan, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Objective:
To compare the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in women with threatened miscarriage and normal pregnancy.
Methods:
This study was a longitudinal study. Consenting women with normal pregnancy and those admitted on account of threatened miscarriage at an estimated gestational age of 6-10 weeks were included in the study. The proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-13 were measured at the diagnosis of threatened miscarriage (baseline) and in the 13th week of pregnancy. The χ2 test of association was used to examine the relationship between the pregnancy type and demographic characteristics; clinical history and gynecologic history. Student t test was used to compare the selected cytokine between women with threatened miscarriage and normal pregnancy.
Results:
There was a significantly higher IL-2 (P = 0.033), IFN-γ (P < 0.001), and IL-13 (P < 0.001) in women with threatened miscarriage than in women with normal pregnancy at the baseline. At the follow up, the results revealed a significantly higher IFN-γ level (P < 0.001) and IL-4 (P = 0.019) in women with threatened miscarriage than in women with normal pregnancies.
Conclusion:
Proinflammatory cytokine profiles were associated with a higher risk of threatened miscarriage.
