Type-1 and type-2 cytokines in human late-gestation decidual tissue

Evidence suggests that successful pregnancy in rodents requires the preferential stimulation of type-2 cytokine production by gestation- associated tissues. The ability of human gestation-associated tissue to synthesize type-2 and type-1 cytokines has not been examined in detail and was the subject of this study. Decidual tissue collected at term, either before the onset of labor (elective caesarean section) or at the completion of labor, expressed mRNA for interleukin (IL)-10 and interferon γ (IFNγ) and produced IL-10 and IFNγ protein in vitro. IL-4 mRNA or protein was not detected. IFNγ production in vitro was significantly decreased by decidual cells prepared from decidua collected after labor as compared with those collected before the commencement of labor, a change that may be associated with prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) production in conjunction with labor. IFNγ, IL-4, and IL-10 were detectable in human amniotic fluid collected at term. There was no significant difference in the levels of IL-4, IFNγ, or IL-10 in samples collected before labor onset or during labor. Thus, late-gestation human decidual tissue and amniotic fluid do not preferentially express a type-2 cytokine profile of cytokines. This is not consistent with observations of a predominant type-2 cytokine profile in gestation-associated tissues in murine pregnancy.