Abnormal cytokine levels in non-pregnant women with a history of recurrent miscarriage

Objective: To compare cyrokine levels in serum from non-pregnant women with a history of recurrent miscarriage with those found in nonpregnant women with no such history. Study design: Two patient groups were enrolled into the study. Group I comprised 25 non-pregnant women with no history of recurrent miscarriage. Group 2 comprised 50 non-pregnant women who had a history of at least three previous miscarriages. Fifteen of these women have since become pregnant again-10 had a successful pregnancy and five miscarried. Serum levels of IL-4, IFNgamma, IL-12 and IL-18 were measured. Results: Results showed IFNgamma (0.68 +/- 0.72 versus 0.45 +/- 0.29 P < 0.05) and IL-12 levels (66 +/- 25 versus 51 +/- 24 P < 0.05) were significantly higher in Group 2 compared to Group 1. Levels of IL-18 were significantly lower in Group 2 patients (318 +/- 140 versus 246 +/- 219 P < 0.05). Of the 15 women who became pregnant, those who miscarried again had significantly higher IL- 18 levels when not pregnant than those women whose next pregnancies went successfully to term (547 +/- 20 versus 274 +/- 129 P < 0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that women with a history of recurrent miscarriage can have abnormal cytokine expression even when not pregnant. This may influence the potential for future successful immune modulatory therapy. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.