interleukin 8, term labour

The inflammatory process plays a pivotal role during the pathogenesis of human labour, both at term and at preterm. Nicotinamide, a vitamin B(3) derivative, exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties in several cell types by interaction with various intracellular signalling proteins via modulating the activity of various transcription factors, including activation of the O subfamily of Forkhead/winged helix transcription factors (FoxO) and inhibition of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). The aim of this study was to determine the effect of nicotinamide on the expression of pro-labour and mediators in human placenta...

Acute chorioamnionitis of infectious origin and chronic chorioamnionitis of immunological origin are two major placental lesions of spontaneous preterm birth with elevated amniotic fluid interleukin-6 and CXCL10 concentrations, respectively. The changes in the amniotic fluid proteome associated with intra-amniotic infection and acute chorioamnionitis are well defined, yet alterations unique to chronic chorioamnionitis remain to be elucidated. This study was conducted to determine those amniotic fluid proteins changing specifically in the presence of chronic chorioamnionitis...

The aim of the No Pain in Labour (NoPiL) study was to evaluate the stress and clinical outcome of infants vaginally born without maternal analgesia and after maternal epidural or systemic analgesia. We studied 120 healthy term infants, 41 in the no analgesia group, 38 in the epidural analgesia group, and 41 in the systemic analgesia group. Cortisol, beta-endorphin, oxidative stress markers (ie: total hydroperoxide (TH) and advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP)), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) cytokines were measured in arterial cord blood samples...

Chorioamnionitis (CAM) is a major cause of preterm delivery. Inflammatory cytokines and chemokines play important roles in the pathogenesis of preterm delivery. Interleukin (IL)-17 is a key cytokine which induces inflammation and is critical to host defense. In this study, we examined the role of IL-17 in the pathogenesis of preterm delivery. The levels of cytokines including IL-17, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha were measured by ELISA in amniotic fluid from 154 cases of preterm labor. Flow cytometry and immunohistochemical staining were performed to determine the distribution of IL-17-producing cells...

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies suggest that preterm delivery might be conditioned genetically. The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between spontaneous preterm delivery (PTD) and the carriage of polymorphic genes that code the following cytokines: interleukin-1beta [IL1beta (+3953C>T)], interleukin-6 promoter [IL6 (-174G>C)], tumour necrosis factor-alpha promoter [TNFalpha (-308G>A)] and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN) in the population of Polish women...

A role for the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is evident in term and preterm delivery, and this is independent of the presence of infection. All uterine tissues progress through a staged transformation near the end of pregnancy that leads from relative uterine quiescence and maintenance of pregnancy to the activation of the uterus that prepares it for the work of labour and production of stimulatory molecules that trigger the onset of labour and delivery...

Preterm labour (PTL) is the most important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. While some causes have been identified, the mechanisms involved remain elusive. This study investigates whether term labour (TL) is an appropriate model for PTL by examining pro-labour gene expression, using quantitative rtPCR, and protein synthesis, using Western analysis, in preterm and term myometrial samples obtained from the upper and lower uterine segments before and after the onset of labour. In the lower segment, the levels of prostaglandin H synthase type-2 (PGHS-2), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6 and IL-8 mRNA expression were significantly higher in TL compared with PTL samples...

We have investigated the hypothesis that the expression of the enzymes involved in PGE(2) synthesis in the human uterus is co-ordinated. We have studied (i) the mRNA expression of the enzymes involved in PGE(2) synthesis [phospholipases (cPLA(2) and sPLA(2)), prostaglandin H synthase (PGHS)-2 and PG E synthases (PGES-1 and -2)] and their relationship to the expression of inflammatory cytokines in samples of myometrium obtained from pregnant women undergoing caesarean section (LSCS) either before or after the onset of labour at or before term; and (ii) the effect of IL-1beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha, PGE(2) and stretch on PGE(2) enzyme mRNA expression...

The onset of human labour is complex and involves multiple mediators, prostaglandins, cytokines and chemokines. However, whilst prostaglandins are routinely used for labour induction and inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis are used to prevent pre-term labour, these practices are not invariably successful, and the rationale for their use is equivocal. As COX-2 and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production is increased towards term, we have investigated the effect of PGE(2) and other cAMP-elevating agents on events associated with labour induction...

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have suggested that proinflammatory cytokines might play a crucial role in the mechanism of preterm labour and delivery. The main aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the usefulness of selected proinflammatory cytokines' (IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6 and IL-8) levels in cervico-vaginal fluid of pregnant women as an early marker of preterm delivery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cervico-vaginal fluids were obtained from 107 pregnant women at 22 to 34 weeks' gestation, including 61 women with threatened preterm labour (TPL) and 46 women with physiological course of pregnancy (reference group)...

BACKGROUND: Human cervical ripening is an inflammatory process. In labour at term the mRNA-levels and protein concentrations for interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-8 in cervix significantly increase. The aim of this study was to investigate if there are differences in the inflammatory process of preterm and term cervical ripening. METHODS: Cervical biopsies from 50 singleton pregnant women without clinical signs of infection were allocated to four groups: preterm labour, term labour, preterm not in labour and term not in labour...

In addition to primary predictors of preterm birth which are used to estimate the baseline risk of preterm birth, secondary predictors (based on examinations done during the current pregnancy) allow a more accurate assessment of the risk of preterm birth in individual women. Screening for early signs of spontaneous preterm labour has always been an important topic in obstetric care. During the last two decades, the detection of fetal fibronectin (FFN) from cervicovaginal secretions and cervical shortening diagnosed by transvaginal ultrasonography have emerged as the major secondary predictors of preterm birth...

An altered inflammatory activity due to functionally relevant polymorphisms of the innate immune system may influence pathways leading to labour and, therefore, impact on the frequency of preterm birth. We examined five polymorphisms of the innate immune system in a large cohort of preterm very-low-birth-weight (VLBW, n = 909) and term-born infants (n = 491) and their mothers (n = 747). The primary outcome was preterm versus term birth. Frequencies of polymorphisms in mothers of term-born infants versus mothers of VLBW infants and term infants versus preterm VLBW infants (singletons) are given...

IL-10 is regarded predominantly as an inhibitor of cell-mediated inflammatory reactions. As such, it has been suggested that IL-10 could have therapeutic potential, including the treatment of preterm labor. Using explant cultures of gestational membranes we have found that IL-10 does indeed exert anti-inflammatory properties in choriodecidua, but that in the adjacent amnion it has remarkable pro-inflammatory actions. Amnion prostaglandin (PG) E(2) production was significantly increased following 24-h treatment with IL-10 (5-100 ng/mL)...

The objective of this study was to compare two of the inflammatory cytokines (IL-1 and IL-6) elevated in both preterm labour and preterm premature rupture of the membranes (pPROM), with respect to their ability to induce fetal membrane apoptosis. Fetal membranes collected from women at term were placed in an organ explant system and stimulated with recombinant human IL-1 beta and IL-6. The expression patterns of pro-apoptotic genes (Fas, FasL, TRADD, FADD) and caspases 2, 3, 8, 9 were studied using PCR. Caspase activity and DNA fragmentation were studied using substrate assays and TUNEL respectively...

The placenta and fetal membranes are the site of expression of macrophage inhibitory cytokine (MIC-1), a member of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta superfamily. We hypothesized that MIC-1 may act as an immune regulator in pregnancy complications associated with intrauterine inflammation. Decidual cells, chorionic trophoblasts and amnion epithelial cells were identified by immunohistochemistry as the predominant MIC-1-containing cell type in term membranes. Amnion and choriodecidual explants all produced MIC-1 in culture, the latter having the greatest production rate (206 +/- 74...

In spite of impressive advances in biochemistry and molecular biology, it has not yet been possible to fit the individual biochemical components of cervical ripening and dilatation to a uniform clinical moiety or to uncover any regulatory mechanisms. The production of interleukin-8 by activated fibroblasts and macrophages plays a key role in cervical ripening, since this cytokine induces chemotaxis, activation, and degranulation of neutrophilic granulocytes with the consequent release of various proteases, including collagenase...

Accumulating evidence suggests that human parturition represents an inflammatory process. Leukocytes are known to infiltrate uterine tissues but the exact timing, nature and quantity of these cells has not been formally characterized. We have previously demonstrated an apparent increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines within tissues of the labouring uterus. The aims of this study were to quantify and compare the leukocyte subpopulations before and during labour in fetal membranes, decidua and cervix and to quantify and compare mRNA expression of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha in myometrium, cervix, chorio-decidua and amnion...

The mechanisms which soften the cervix and allow it to dilate at birth are not well known. This is a crucial element in labour and current pharmacological approaches, largely the use of prostaglandins (PG), are only semi-selective for the cervix and can cause inappropriate myometrial contractions. Cervical ripening is accompanied by the influx of neutrophils, the neutrophil is a ready source of collagenase, and the cervix is dependent on collagen for its rigidity. Thus it is important to study factors controlling neutrophil influx into the cervix at term...

To assess the stimulated production of Interleukin-6 and Interleukin-8 in healthy term neonates compared to adults, and to study the effect of labour on the capacity of cytokine secretion, 20 healthy term neonates (11 delivered by elective caesarean section, (ECS) group; 9 vaginally delivered, (VD) group) were included in the study, and five healthy adult volunteers served as controls. Spontaneous and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated IL-6 and IL-8 secretion in short-term umbilical whole blood cultures was determined...