Abstract
Objective:
To determine the levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the vagina of healthy women and in bacterial vaginosis (BV) patients.
Methods:
Interleukin (IL)-1α, 1β, 5 and 10 were analyzed by ELISA in vaginal wash fluids from 50 non-pregnant patients with BV and 112 healthy women.
Results:
Levels of IL-1β were higher and those of IL-10 lower in BV-patients than in healthy women. There was a tendency towards higher levels of IL-1α in BV patients, but these data were not statistically significant.
Conclusion:
We found evidence for a shift towards a TH1-dominated vaginal cytokine profile in the pathogenesis of BV. Levels of a TH1-cytokine were elevated and those of a TH2-cytokine lowered in BV-patients as compared to healthy controls. This points to a vaginal TH1-response during BV and to the importance of cell-mediated immunity in local vaginal infections.
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Anton, G., Rid, J., Mylonas, I. et al. Evidence of a TH1-Shift of Local Vaginal Inflammatory Response During Bacterial Vaginosis. Infection 36, 147–152 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-007-7152-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-007-7152-2