Journal
CLINICAL AND VACCINE IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 15, Issue 1, Pages 49-54Publisher
AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY
DOI: 10.1128/CVI.00216-07
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Funding
- NCI NIH HHS [2 R01 CA87905-01, R01 CA051323, R37 CA051323, 2 R01 CA51323-11A1, R01 CA051323-11A1, R01 CA087905-01A1, R01 CA087905] Funding Source: Medline
- NCRR NIH HHS [5 M01 RR-01271, M01 RR001271] Funding Source: Medline
- NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE [R01CA087905, R01CA051323, R37CA051323] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH RESOURCES [M01RR001271] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Cytokines in cervical mucus are likely to play important roles in controlling pathogens. The cervical mucosal environment is complex, however, with many endogenous and exogenous factors that may affect cytokine levels. We used a multiplex, suspension-array-based immunoassay method to measure 10 proinflammatory (interleukin-1 beta [IL-1 beta], IL-6, and IL-8) and immunoregulatory (gamma interferon [IFN-gamma], IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, and IL-13) cytokines in cervical mucus specimens collected via ophthalmic sponge from 72 healthy, nonpregnant women and correlate their levels with biologic and behavioral covariates in a cross-sectional design. Proinflammatory and immunoregulatory cytokines were readily detected, although proinflammatory cytokines were present at markedly higher levels than were immunoregulatory cytokines. Among the covariates examined, the most striking finding was the significant (P <= 0.05) association between depressed levels of the cytokines IFN-gamma, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and IL-10 and cigarette smoking. Also, nonsignificant trends toward lower cytokine levels were found in the settings of incident and persistent human papillomavirus infection. The ready detection of proinflammatory cytokines may be reflective of the female genital tract as an anatomic site that is constantly exposed to immunogenic stimulation. Cigarette smoking appears to downregulate cytokine responses in the cervical mucosa, which may help explain the implicated role of tobacco use as a cofactor for cervical cancer development.
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