Chorioamnionitis-exposure alters serum cytokine trends in premature neonates.

Abstract

Determine if chronologic age and/or chorioamnionitis exposure alter normal serum cytokine and chemokine levels in uninfected preterm neonates during their initial NICU stay. A 7-plex immunoassay measured levels of serum IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, CCL2, and CCL3 longitudinally from chorioamnionitis-exposed and unexposed preterm neonates under 33 weeks' gestation. Chorioamnionitis-exposed and unexposed preterm neonates demonstrated differences in the trends of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, and CCL2 over the first month of life. The unexposed neonates demonstrated elevated levels of these inflammatory markers in the first two weeks of life with a decrease by the third week of life, while the chorioamnionitis-exposed neonates demonstrated differences over time without a predictable pattern. Chorioamnionitis-exposed and unexposed neonates demonstrated altered IL-10 and TNF-α trajectories over the first twelve weeks of life. Chorioamnionitis induces a state of immune dysregulation in preterm neonates that persists beyond the immediate neonatal period.