Abstract:

Inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured in the serum of healthy, term neonates on the first (N1), fifth (N5) and 40th (N40) day after birth, compared with those in maternal serum (MS), umbilical cord (UC) and in adult controls. All three cytokines were significantly elevated in N1 and N5, compared with those in UC and adults (P<0.0001). IL-1β and IL-6 declined significantly from N1 to N40 (P<0.0001), while TNF-α increased significantly from N1 to N5 and declined thereafter. TNF-α values in UC were significantly higher than in adults, but lower than in N40 (P<0.0001), while IL-1β and IL-6 values in UC did not differ from those in N40 and in adults. IL-1β and IL-6, but not TNF-α values in MS were significantly higher than those in controls (P<0.0001). IL-1β values in MS were significantly higher than those in N1 (P<0.0001), while those of IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly lower (P<0.0001). Moreover, IL-1β values were dependent on the mode of delivery in N1 (P<0.001), in MS (P<0.02) and in UC (0.03), while IL-1β and TNF-α values in N1 were strongly interrelated (r=0.7; P<0.01). In conclusion, the increased values of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α during the perinatal period might reflect a newborn immune response to the stress of delivery and to environmental changes after birth. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.