Detection of interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and interleukin-11 in plasma from women with spontaneous abortion

Objective: To investigate the role of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-11 in the immune-regulatory mechanisms involved in the spontaneous abortion of the first trimester of pregnancy. Study Design: Plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-11 were determined in 68 women who had a spontaneous abortion of unknown aetiology during the first trimester of pregnancy. They were compared with the corresponding levels of 73 age-matched pregnant women who had an uneventful pregnancy, and 52 age-matched non-pregnant women. All enrolled women presented without any severe disease, syndrome or recent infection. Cytokine levels were measured by a sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay. Results: The women with spontaneous abortion had significantly decreased plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-11 compared to those with normal pregnancies ( P