Cytokine Imprint in Preeclampsia

^{Department of Obstetrics, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland,}

^{Department of Medical Immunology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland,}

^{Department of Neonatology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland,}

^{Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland,}

^{Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pomeranian Medical University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland,}

^{International Centre for Cancer Vaccine Science Cancer Immunology Group, University of Gdansk, Gdańsk, Poland,}

^{Laboratory of Immunoregulation and Cellular Therapies, Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland,}

Edited by: Remo Castro Russo, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Reviewed by: Denise Cornelius, University of Mississippi Medical Center, United States; Camila Ferreira Bannwart Castro, Sao Paulo State University, Brazil

*Correspondence: Katarzyna Stefańska, lp.pw@hcaick

†These authors have contributed equally to this work

This article was submitted to Cytokines and Soluble Mediators in Immunity, a section of the journal Frontiers in Immunology

Edited by: Remo Castro Russo, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Reviewed by: Denise Cornelius, University of Mississippi Medical Center, United States; Camila Ferreira Bannwart Castro, Sao Paulo State University, Brazil

Received 2021 Feb 14; Accepted 2021 May 31.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Abstract

The hallmark of preeclampsia (PE) is a shift toward persistent inflammatory response, accompanied by endothelial dysfunction. The driving forces in PE are proinflammatory cytokine and growth factors, in parallel with reduced functionality of anti-inflammatory effectors, like regulatory T cells are observed. Unfortunately, no conclusive mechanism underlying preeclampsia has been identified. For this reason, research on preeclampsia is needed to provide a state of the art understanding of the pathophysiology, identification of new diagnostics tools and the development of targeted therapies. The 68 patients were divided into three groups: gestational hypertension (GH) group (n = 19) and PE group (n = 28) and a control group (n = 21). We have tested a set of 53 cytokines, chemokines and growth factors in preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, and then compared them with normal pregnancies. Using a diagnostic test assessment characteristic parameters (IL-22, MDC/CCL22, IL-2/IL-4 ratio) have been identified and cut-off values have been proposed to diagnose preeclampsia. All parameters had high negative or positive predictive values, above 80%. In conclusion, we have proposed a potential set of immune parameters to diagnose preeclampsia.

Keywords: preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, cytokine, inflammatory response, growth factors

Abstract

(†) calculated ratio; (*) significant result; significant when p < 0.005.

(†) calculated ratio; significant when p < 0.005.

(†) calculated ratio.

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