| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
DOI: 10.1177/1099800407309281 Cervical and Vaginal Cytokine Determinations in Pregnant Women: Methodologic IssuesNew York University, Susan.gennaro{at}nyu.edu
New York University
University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Investigations of the role cytokines play in preterm birth are complicated by a number of methodologic issues that arise as to the most feasible and efficient methods to measure cytokines. The purpose of this article is to review methodologic issues surrounding the measurement of vaginal and cervical cytokines, specifically IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-
Key Words: cytokines preterm labor preterm birth interleukin tumor necrosis factor pregnancy
|
, in pregnant women experiencing preterm labor. Specifically, two quantification methods, weight and protein assay, and cytokine specimens from two different sites, vaginal and cervical, were compared. There were no significant correlations between cytokine levels using the protein versus weight quantification method. The weight method had more negative values and thus the protein quantification method was more accurate. There were high correlations between cervical and vaginal IL-1β levels and IL-6 levels, but cervical and vaginal TNF-