Abstract
Problem Pregnancy requires that the maternal immune system adapt to prevent rejection of the fetal semi-allograft. This immunologic adaptation may contribute to pregnancy-related alterations in disease susceptibility and severity of infections from viral pathogens such as influenza virus.Method of Study As part of a larger study investigating the maternal systemic immune response during pregnancy, peripheral blood was collected three times during pregnancy and twice post-partum to measure serum levels of 23 cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. This longitudinal study design allowed each woman's post-partum blood draw to serve as her own comparison, thus controlling for interpersonal variability in expression levels.Results When compared to the post-partum samples, significant pregnancy-related changes in IFNγ, TNFα, VEGF, GCSF, Eotaxin, and MCP-1 expression were observed. These changes have significant immunologic effects in vivo and in culture.Conclusion Pregnancy-associated changes to steady state serum cytokines may have important immunologic consequence.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 411-426 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | American Journal of Reproductive Immunology |
Volume | 64 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2010 |
Keywords
- Immunity
- Reproduction
- Serum
- Systemic
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology
- Reproductive Medicine
- Obstetrics and Gynecology