Abstract
Background. Cytokine imbalance in preeclampsia may be one of the etiological factors for preeclampsia. Objectives. The study was conducted to investigate interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in preeclampsia. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the concentrations of these three pro-inflammatory cytokines in sera from 33 Sudanese women with preeclampsia (at presentation and 7 days later) and 32 women with normal pregnancy as a control group. Results. The levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 were slightly-not statistically significant- higher in the women with preeclampsia. IL-10 was significantly higher in the women with preeclampsia. Women with preeclampsia had significantly lower levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 and significantly higher levels of IL-10 7days later in comparison with the presenting levels. Conclusion. Thus, the significantly raised levels of IL-10 in women with preeclampsia suggest its role in pathogenesis of preeclampsia, and further research is needed.