Proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in pregnant women chronically infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

• Published in: Acta tropica Vol. 90; no. 1; pp. 65 - 72
• Main Authors: Cardoni, R.L, Garcı́a, M.Martı́n, De Rissio, A.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.03.2004; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Chagas Disease - blood; Chagas Disease - transmission; Cytokines - blood; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; General aspects; Human; Human infectious diseases. Experimental studies and models; Humans; IFN-γ; IL-10; Infant, Newborn; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Infectious diseases; Interferon-gamma - blood; Interleukin-10 - blood; Medical sciences; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic - blood; TNF-α; Trypanosoma cruzi; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - metabolism; South America; Argentina; America; Pregnancy; Human; IFN-γ; TNF-α; IL-10; Trypanosoma cruzi; Kinetoplastida; Protozoa; Protozoal disease; Cytokine; Chagas disease; Inflammation; Parasitosis; Infection; Interleukin 10; Tropical medicine; Woman; Trypanosomiasis; Tumor necrosis factor α; Gamma interferon
• ISSN: 0001-706X; 1873-6254
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2003.09.020

Mother-to-child transmission of intracellular parasites could be related to the production of immunoregulatory cytokines. The levels of gamma interferon (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and lnterleukin (IL)-10 were evaluated during pregnancy in sera of women chronically infected with Trypanosoma cruzi that delivered infected or non-infected children. The levels of IL-10 increased in both, women only pregnant and only infected, compared to non-infected non-pregnant women. However, in pregnant women chronically infected with T. cruzi, IL-10 did not increase significantly, neither in the mothers of infected nor in the mothers of non-infected children. The levels of the inflammatory cytokine TNF-α were not affected in normal pregnancy but increased in the infected mothers of non-infected children. The levels of IFN-γ did not increase in the groups studied, indicating that the production of this pro-inflammatory cytokine was controlled, even when the levels of IL-10 did not increase, as in pregnant women chronically infected with T. cruzi.