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Abstract
Objectives: To establish gender-specific differences in maternal and fetal immune response in healthy human fetuses at term. Methods: Forty-five women with elective caesarean sections for uncomplicated singleton pregnancies were recruited for two studies. Using a multiplex biomarker immunoassay system, unstimulated maternal and fetal plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-8, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were measured from one study population. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cytokine response was measured in a second study. Results: There were no significant gender differences in either maternal or fetal unstimulated plasma cytokine concentrations, but concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly greater in male fetal LPS-stimulated samples than in female fetal samples. Conclusions: Blood of male fetuses mounts a larger pro-inflammatory response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This heightened response could be a critical pathway in promoting premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) and may be associated with life long differential gender response to infection.
Declaration of Interest: This study was supported by The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Academic Enrichment Fund (Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario) 2007/08 and a Strategic Training Initiative in Research in Reproductive Health Sciences (STIRRHS) grant supported Dr. Barbra de Vrijer. Multiplex biomarker immunoassays were performed by Shannon Miffen (Screening Lab for Immune Disorders, Lawson Health Research Institute, SJHC). None of the authors have any conflict of interest.