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Regulation of inflammation during gestation and birth outcomes: Inflammatory cytokine balance predicts birth weight and length
Author(s) -
Ragsdale Haley B.,
Kuzawa Christopher W.,
Borja Judith B.,
Avila Josephine L.,
McDade Thomas W.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.23245
Subject(s) - offspring , birth weight , inflammation , gestation , anthropometry , pregnancy , medicine , cytokine , interleukin 10 , gestational age , physiology , fetus , c reactive protein , immunology , obstetrics , biology , genetics
Objectives The maternal environment during gestation influences offspring health at birth and throughout the life course. Recent research has demonstrated that endogenous immune processes such as dysregulated inflammation adversely impact birth outcomes, increasing the risk for preterm birth and restricted fetal growth. Prior analyses examining this association suggest a relationship between maternal C‐reactive protein (CRP), a summary measure of inflammation, and offspring anthropometric outcomes. This study investigates pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines, and their ratio, to gain deeper insight into the regulation of inflammation during pregnancy. Methods IL6, IL10, TNFɑ, and CRP were quantified in dried blood spots collected in the early third trimester (mean = 29.9 weeks) of 407 pregnancies in Metropolitan Cebu, Philippines. Relationships between these immune markers and offspring anthropometrics (birth weight, length, head circumference, and sum of skinfold thicknesses) were evaluated using multivariate regression analyses. Ratios of pro‐ to anti‐inflammatory cytokines were generated. Results Higher maternal IL6 relative to IL10 was associated with reduced offspring weight and length at birth. Individual cytokines did not predict birth outcomes. Conclusions Consistent with the idea that the relative balance of cytokines with pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory effects is a key regulator of inflammation in pregnancy, the IL6:IL10 ratio, but neither cytokine on its own, predicted offspring birth outcomes. Our findings suggest that prior reports of association between CRP and fetal growth may reflect, in part, the balance between pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines, and that the gestational environment is significantly shaped by cytokine imbalance.