Serum pro-inflammatory cytokines in physiological and pre-eclamptic pregnancies

Background. Pre-eclampsia is a heterogeneous syndrome ranging from mild hypertension and proteinuria to severe pre-eclampsia with complications, which can also be associated with an enhanced maternal inflammatory response. Methods. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) were evaluated by multiplexed sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 14 pre-eclamptic women, 57 normotensive pregnant women (20 in the first, 20 in the second and 17 in the third trimester) and 21 non-pregnant women. Results. The concentration of serum TNF-alpha was lower than the sensitivity limit of the assay in all groups. The prevalence of measurable IL-1 and IL-6 values, but not that of IFN-, increased significantly in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. However, the percentage of subjects with higher or detectable values of pro-inflammatory cytokines was statistically different between pre-eclamptic women and those in the second and third trimester of physiological pregnancy. Conclusions. Results of this study do not support standard screening for pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1, IL-6 and IFN-alpha) in pre-eclampsia.