IMR Press / FBL / Volume 13 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.2741/2737

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Cytokine imbalance in pregnancy complications and its modulation
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1 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat 13110, Kuwait
2 Medical and Environmental Pregnancy Health Hazards Unit, Department of Perinatology, I Chair of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Medical University of Lodz, Poland, Wilenska 37, 94-029 Lodz, Poland
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2008, 13(3), 985–994; https://doi.org/10.2741/2737
Published: 1 January 2008
Abstract

The phenomenon of pregnancy can be compromised by a number of complications, such as threatened abortion, recurrent spontaneous miscarriage, preeclampsia, and preterm delivery. Research conducted during the last decade has opened up the possibility that cellular immune effectors may underlie such pregnancy complications. Particularly interesting are the effects of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines on the conceptus and thus on the success or failure of pregnancy. This review focuses on the association between cytokines and the different complications of pregnancy as well as on the possible pathways of the effector function of cytokines in pregnancy loss. This review also goes on to discuss the redirection of the cytokine profile towards one that is more conducive to pregnancy. Among the most promising agents for the modulation of the Th1/Th2 balance are progestogens such as progesterone and dydrogesterone. Recently published studies lead us to propose that a therapeutic approach worth pursuing would be to assess the individual cytokine profiles of women with pregnancy complications and then to adjust individual therapy using the most effective progestogen.

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