Significance of maternal serum cytokines levels in preterm labor

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed to examine whether maternal serum cytokines levels are useful for the diagnosis of preterm delivery with histologic chorioamnionitis. The blood samples of 16 women who delivered preterm, between 29 and 35 weeks of gestation, were collected at delivery and the placentae were histopathologically examined for chorioamnionitis. The mean value of interleukin-6 [IL-6] was significantly higher in six women with histologic chorioamnionitis than that in ten women without histologic chorioamnionitis [mean 234.4 pg/ml, range 100-312 pg/ml, mean 62.4 pg/ml, range 5-15 pg/ml, respectively]. The IL-6 level was statistically correlated with the level of C-reactive protein [CRP] in preterm women. The levels of interleukin-8 [IL-8] did not differ between the two groups. The results suggested that the level of maternal serum interleukin-6 is more useful than other markers including CRP for the identification of women at risk of impending preterm labor with histologic chorioamnionitis