Assessment of interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and interleukin-18 count in the serum of IUGR newborns.

AIM

Aim of this study was to assess concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) in the serum of newborns with diagnosed intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in comparison to concentrations in serum of newborns with weight appropriate for gestational age (AGA).

MATERIALS

Research was conducted at the Lodz Medical University Clinic of Neonatology during 2010-2011. Surveyed group consisted of 50 hypotrophic full-term infants of single pregnancies (average weight: 2329 ± 287 g); control group, enclosing 50 infants AGA (average weight: 3544 ± 2161 g). Both groups received average Apgar score of 9 points. Concentrations of analysed cytokines were marked between 4-6 hours after birth. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test was used to determine interleukins concentrations. Study was prospective. Statistics on the data were conducted with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Significance level: p < 0.05.

RESULTS

Concentrations of IL-6 and IL-18 were elevated in the IUGR group in a statistically significant manner in comparison to the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

An elevated level of IL-6 and IL-18 in the IUGR group, comparing to control group, signifies the existence of inflammation in the process of developing IUGR, therefore, screening tests estimating levels of interleukins as IL-6 and IL-18 might be clinically useful in predicting the occurrence of IUGR and help preventing it.