Association of pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines in preeclampsia

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines play crucial role in the development and functions of placenta. Any changes in these cytokines may be associated with many pregnancy-related disorders like preeclampsia. Therefore, the present study is aimed to study the expression of pro-inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-6) and anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-10) cytokines in placenta and serum of preeclamptic pregnant women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For this study, a total of 194 cases of preeclamptic and control cases were enrolled in two Groups as per the gestational age that is, Group I (28-36 weeks) and II (37 weeks onwards). The number of samples was 55 in Group I and 139 in Group II. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were conducted on placenta and serum of both preeclamptic and normal samples, respectively. IHC results were revalidated by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Both Groups (I, II) of preeclampsia showed amended levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in placental tissues and serum samples. The levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly increased in preeclamptic cases (P = 0.0001, P = 0.0001) while the IL-4 and IL-10 were downregulated (P = 0.0001, P = 0.0001) in comparison to control. In addition, a negative correlation was also observed between the two in preeclampsia (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The balanced ratio of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines is essential to regulate the maternal inflammation system throughout pregnancy. Therefore, the gradual cytokine profiling of the pregnant women may be useful for the management of preeclampsia.