Elevated Levels of IL-10 and G-CSF Associated with Asymptomatic Malaria in Pregnant Women

• Main Authors: Nana O. Wilson (Author), Tameka Bythwood (Author), Wesley Solomon (Author), Pauline Jolly (Author), Nelly Yatich (Author), Yi Jiang (Author), Faisal Shuaib (Author), Andrew A. Adjei (Author), Winston Anderson (Author), Jonathan K. Stiles (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Hindawi Limited, 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 1064-7449; 1098-0997; 10.1155/2010/317430
• Keywords: Gynecology and obstetrics; RG1-991; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216
• Source: Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol 2010 (2010)

In sub-Saharan Africa, approximately 30 million pregnant women are at risk of contracting malaria annually. Nearly 36% of healthy pregnant women receiving routine antenatal care tested positive for Plasmodium falciparum HRP-II antigen in Ghana. We tested the hypothesis that asymptomatic HRP II positive pregnant women expressed a unique Th1 and Th2 phenotype that differs from healthy controls. Plasma from healthy (n=15) and asymptomatic (n=25) pregnant women were evaluated for 27 biomarkers (IL-1b, IL-1ra, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-15, IL- 17, Eotaxin, bFGF-2, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IP-10, MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, PDGF-bb, RANTES, TNF, and VEGF) associated with Th1 and Th2 cytokine homeostasis. IL-10 and G-CSF levels were elevated in the asymptomatic group when compared with the healthy group (P=.031 and .041, resp.). The median ratios of IL-1β:5, IL-1β:10, IL-1β:G-CSF, IL-1β:Eotaxin, IL-12:G-CSF, IL-15:10, IL-17:G-CSF, IL-17:Eotaxin, TNF:IL-4, TNF:IL-5, and TNF:G-CSF were significantly different among the two groups. Thus, asymptomatic malaria carriage may be linked to circulating levels of IL-10 and G-CSF.