Cytokine mapping of sera from women with preeclampsia and normal pregnancies

Introduction: Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific syndrome. The immune system in preeclampsia is changed with an increased innate activity and there is a hypothesis of a shift towards Th1-type immunity. The aim of this study was to determine a spectrum of soluble immunological factors denoting different aspects of immune activation in third trimester sera from women with preeclampsia (N = 15) and compare with levels in sera from normal pregnant women (N = 15). Material and methods: IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12 p40, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, IFN-α, IFN-γ, TNF-α, GM-CSF, MIP-lα, MIP-1β, MCP-1, eotaxin and RANTES were measured in serum using multiplex bead arrays. The levels of soluble CD14 and soluble IL-4 receptor were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Results: Preeclamptic women had significantly increased levels of circulating IL-6 (p = 0.002), IL-8 (p = 0.003) and soluble IL-4R (p = 0.037), compared to women with normal pregnancies. Conclusion: This study supports the hypothesis of increased inflammatory responses in preeclampsia, illustrated by the increased levels of IL-6 and IL-8. The finding of increased levels of soluble IL-4 receptor is an intriguing finding with several interpretations, which may partly support the hypothesis of a Th1 shift in preeclampsia.