Problem: To characterize the amniotic fluid (AF) inflammatory-related protein (IRP) network in patients with a sonographic short cervix (SCx) and to determine its relation to early preterm delivery (ePTD).
Method of study: A retrospective cohort study included women with a SCx (≤25 mm; n=223) who had amniocentesis and were classified according to gestational age (GA) at diagnosis and delivery (ePTD <32 weeks of gestation).
Results: (i) In women with a SCx ≤ 22 1/7 weeks, the concentration of most IRPs increased as the cervix shortened; those with ePTD had a higher rate of increase in MIP-1α, MCP-1, and IL-6 concentrations than those delivering later; and (ii) the concentration of most IRPs and the correlation between several IRP pairs were higher in the ePTD group than for those delivering later.
Conclusion: Women with a SCx at 16-22 1/7 weeks have a unique AF cytokine network that correlates with cervical length at diagnosis and GA at delivery. This network may aid in predicting ePTD.
Keywords: amniocentesis; cervical insufficiency; cytokine; macrophage inflammatory protein; network analysis; preterm birth.
Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.