Browsing by Author "Kim, Chong Jai"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Evidence for a polarized Th1 response in the maternal circulation in women with preterm labor and intra-amniotic inflammation/infection
    (2006) Espinoza, Jimmy; Kusanovic, Juan Pedro; Hassan, Sonia; Edwin, Samuel S.; Gotsch, Francesca; Kim, Chong Jai; Than, Nandor Gabor; Erez, Offer; Nien, Jyh Kae; Gómez Mora, Ricardo Alberto; Yoon, Bo Hyun; Romer, Roberto
    OBJECTIVE: Most work examining the immune response to intra-amniotic infection has focused on the study of amniotic fluid (AF) cytokines. An adequate characterization of the full range of maternal pro- and antiinflammatory cytokines is lacking. This is important, because of emerging evidence that complications of infection result from an anti-inflammatory response. The purpose of this study was to characterize the maternal cytokine response in women with preterm labor with and without intra-amniotic infection/inflammation (IAI). STUDY DESIGN: This study focused on patients with preterm labor in the following groups: 1) term delivery (n = 157); 2) preterm delivery without IAI (n = 126); and 3) IAI (n = 50). IAI was defined as a positive AF culture or an elevated AF WBC count. Maternal plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1b, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, interferon gamma, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and tumor necrosis factor alpha were determined. A p!0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: 1) Patients with IAI had higher plasma concentrations of IL-6 than those without IAI who delivered preterm [median: 12.5 pg/ml, range: 0-355.5 vs.7.4 pg/ml, range: 0.74-179.3; p = 0.04), and those who delivered at term (median: 5 pg/ml, range: 0-541.4; p = 0.01); 2) Patients with IAI had higher plasma concentrations of IL-8 than those who delivered at term (median:11.1 pg/ml, range: 0.29-82 vs. median: 6 pg/ml, range: 0.4-84.3; p = 0.02) but not than those without IAI who delivered preterm (median: 7.9, range: 1.3-90.2; pO0.05); and 3) There were no significant differences in the plasma concentrations of the rest of the cytokines (11 of 13) among groups. CONCLUSION: IL6 and IL8 are increased in the maternal circulation in cases of intra-amniotic infection/inflammation. The lack of a demonstrable anti-inflammatory response is in sharp contrast to what has been reported in non-pregnant patients
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Polymorphisms in maternal and fetal genes encoding for proteins involved in extracellular matrix metabolism alter the risk for small-for-gestational-age
    (TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2011) Edwards, Digna R. Velez; Romero, Roberto; Kusanovic, Juan Pedro; Hassan, Sonia S.; Mazaki Tovi, Shali; Vaisbuch, Edi; Kim, Chong Jai; Erez, Offer; Chaiworapongsa, Tinnakorn; Pearce, Brad D.; Bartlett, Jacquelaine; Friel, Lara A.; Salisbury, Benjamin A.; Anant, Madan Kumar; Vovis, Gerald F.; Lee, Min Seob; Gomez, Ricardo; Behnke, Ernesto; Oyarzun, Enrique; Tromp, Gerard; Menon, Ramkumar; Williams, Scott M.
    Objective. To examine the association between maternal and fetal genetic variants and small-for-gestational-age (SGA).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Spontaneous labor at term is characterized by specific differential expression of micrornas: A novel mechanism for post-transcriptional gene expression regulation in human parturition
    (2006) Pineles, Beth L.; Romero, Roberto; Montenegro, Daniel; Kim, Jung-Sun; Tarca, Adi L.; Kusanovic, Juan Pedro; Mittal, Pooja; Hassan, Sonia; Espinoza, Jimmy; Kim, Chong Jai
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The concentration of surfactant protein - A in amniotic fluid decreases in spontaneous human parturition at term
    (TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2008) Chaiworapongsa, Tinnakorn; Hong, Joon Seok; Hull, William M.; Kim, Chong Jai; Gomez, Ricardo; Mazor, Moshe; Romero, Roberto; Whitsett, Jeffrey A.
    Objective. The fetus is thought to play a central role in the onset of labor. Pulmonary surfactant protein (SP)-A, secreted by the maturing fetal lung, has been implicated in the mechanisms initiating parturition in mice. The present study was conducted to determine whether amniotic fluid concentrations of SP-A and SP-B change during human parturition. Study design. Amniotic fluid SP-A and SP-B concentrations were measured with a sensitive and specific ELISA in the following groups of pregnant women: (1) mid-trimester of pregnancy, between 15 and 18 weeks of gestation (n=29), (2) term pregnancy not in labor (n=28), and (3) term pregnancy in spontaneous labor (n=26). Non-parametric statistics were used for analysis. Results. SP-A was detected in all amniotic fluid samples. SP-B was detected in 24.1% (7/29) of mid-trimester samples and in all samples at term. The median amniotic fluid concentrations of SP-A and SP-B were significantly higher in women at term than in women in the mid-trimester (SP-A term no labor: median 5.6g/mL, range 2.2-15.2g/mL vs. mid-trimester: median 1.64g/mL, range 0.1-4.7g/mL, and SP-B term no labor: median 0.54g/mL, range 0.17-1.99g/mL vs. mid-trimester: median 0g/mL, range 0-0.35g/mL; both p0.001). The median amniotic fluid SP-A concentration in women at term in labor was significantly lower than that in women at term not in labor (term in labor: median 2.7g/mL, range 1.2-10.1g/mL vs. term no labor: median 5.6g/mL, range 2.2-15.2g/mL; p0.001). There was no significant difference in the median amniotic fluid SP-B concentrations between women in labor and those not in labor (term in labor: median 0.47g/mL, range 0.04-1.32g/mL vs. term no labor: median 0.54g/mL, range 0.17-1.99g/mL; p=0.2). Conclusion. The amniotic fluid concentration of SP-A decreases in spontaneous human parturition at term.