Umbilical cord plasma interferon-induced protein 10 (IP-10) and interferon-induced T-cell alpha chemoattractant (ITAC) levels are lower in women with severe preeclampsia

Background: Higher 1^st trimester maternal serum levels of interferon-induced protein 10 (IP-10) and interferon inducible T-cell alpha chemoattractant (ITAC) are reported in gestations complicated with preeclampsia. However, parallel results in the fetal circulation are lacking. Objective: To compare IP-10 and ITAC levels in neonatal cord blood from gestations complicated by severe preeclampsia vs. gestational age-matched controls. Method: Umbilical cord vessels were sampled following delivery of women with severe preeclampsia (n=30) ≥36 weeks to measure plasma IP-10 and ITAC levels and compared to corresponding controls matched for parity as well as maternal and gestational age. Chemokines were measured by specific ELISAs and expressed as pg/mL. Rho Spearman's coefficients were calculated to establish correlations between chemokine values and various numeric variables. Results: Preeclamptic cases displayed significantly lower median plasma umbilical artery and vein levels of both chemokines when compared to controls (IP-10: 23.4 vs. 31.4 and 2.0 vs. 24.6 pg/mL, P<0.05; and ITAC: 2.0 vs. 13.9 and 11.9 vs. 31.6 pg/mL, P<0.05, in artery and vein, respectively). There was a significant correlation between levels of both chemokines (r²=0.616, P=0.0001), but not with other variables. Conclusion: In contrast to elevated 1^st trimester levels of IP-10 previously found in the maternal serum of women who later developed preeclampsia, this study found lower umbilical cord IP-10 and ITAC plasma levels in near-term gestations with established severe preeclampsia.