Afshari JT, Ghomian N, Shameli A, Shakeri MT, Fahmidehkar MA, Mahajer E, Khoshnavaz R, Emadzadeh M. Determination of Interleukin-6 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha concentrations in Iranian-Khorasanian patients with preeclampsia.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2005;
5:14. [PMID:
16259641 PMCID:
PMC1298308 DOI:
10.1186/1471-2393-5-14]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2005] [Accepted: 11/01/2005] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Our objective was to determine the role of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), markers of immune activation and endothelial dysfunction, in patients with preeclampsia.
Methods
Twenty four women with preeclampsia and eighteen antepartum normotensive pregnant women were recruited as controls. Serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We used independent-samples t test to assess the differences in the concentration of cytokines in preeclamptic patients and control subjects.
Results
IL-6 levels [mean (S.D.)] were significantly higher in preeclamptic women [5.8 (4.85) pg/ml] compared to normal pregnant women [3.01 (2.45) pg/ml] (p = 0.02). There was no significant change in concentration of TNF-alpha in preeclamptic women [53.8 (30.0) pg/ml] compared to normal pregnant women [51.9 (33.8) pg/ml] (p > 0.1).
Conclusion
The results of this study show that IL-6 as a pro-inflammatory cytokine is present in higher concentration in women with preeclampsia. The study was undertaken in women with established preeclampsia and it is not possible to determine whether the increased concentration of IL-6 is a cause or consequence of the disease. Furthermore, these findings suggest that serum TNF-alpha level is not associated with preeclampsia.
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