Are Lactoferrin and Interleukine-6 preterm birth participants?

Background: Preterm birth remains a leading obstetrical complication because of the incomplete understanding of its multifaceted etiology. It is known that immune alterations toward a proinflammatory profile are observed in women with preterm birth, but therapeutic interventions are still lacking because of scarcity of evidence in the integration of maternal and placental interrelated compartments. Objective: To investigate value of Lactoferrin (LF) and Interleukine-6 (IL-6) in the preterm labor. Material and methods: The study comprised 65 women with spontaneous preterm labor and 65 women with term labor. Maternal plasma concentrations of Lactoferrin and Interleukine-6 were detected by standard test system Aeskulisa Lactoferrin and Best-Vector A-8768 for Interleukine-6 Ref 3307 which (GmbH & Co, Germany) gave an analytical sensitive of 1.0 U/ml for Lactoferrin and 0.131 pg/ml for Interleukine-6. Results: Plasma levels of Lactoferrin in women with preterm labor were lower (μmedian = 0.90 U/ml) (p<0.001) than in the control subjects (μmedian = 40.68 U/ml). Plasma levels of Interleukine-6 in the plasma in women with preterm were predictably higher (μmedian = 51.90 pg/ml) than that in the control subjects with term delivery (μmedian = 21.51 pg/ml) (p<0.001). Conclusions: The study findings suggest that plasma levels of Lactoferrin and Interleukine-6 in women with preterm labor may be considered as a promising early biomarker for preterm labor.