Increase of cord blood cytokine-producing T cells in intrauterine infection

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Abstract
Background : Although infection is a frequent and important cause of morbidity and mortality in the neonatal period, evaluation of the immune system in cases of intrauterine infection is not easy. The subsets of T helper (Th) 1, which produce mainly interferon gamma (IFN‐γ), and Th2, which produce interleukin (IL) ‐4, have been implicated in the regulation of many immune responses. In this study, we investigated Th1 and Th2 subsets in the cord blood (CB) to evaluate the role of CB T cells in the intrauterine infections. Methods : We used an intracellular cytokine‐staining technique with determination by flow cytometry to study IFN‐γ‐producing T cells and IL‐4‐producing T cells in the CB of six neonates with perinatal intrauterine infection and 17 uninfected neonates. Results : The CB from neonates with intrauterine infections had more IFN‐γ‐producing CD3+T cells than that from uninfected neonates. The percentage of CB IFN‐γ‐producing CD3+T cells in the infected neonates correlated with the duration of membrane rupture before the onset of labor, but not with the level of C‐reactive protein. The infected neonate born after the longest duration of membrane rupture showed an increased percentage of IL‐4‐producing CD3+T cells. Conclusions : Our results suggest that the increase of CB IFN‐γ and IL‐4‐ producing T cells is part of the immune system directed against perinatal intrauterine infections.