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Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, January 2008, p. 49-54, Vol. 15, No. 1
1071-412X/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CVI.00216-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Determination of Cytokine Protein Levels in Cervical Mucus Samples from Young Women by a Multiplex Immunoassay Method and Assessment of Correlates{triangledown}

Jay A. Lieberman,1,{dagger} Anna-Barbara Moscicki,1 Jan L. Sumerel,2,{ddagger} Yifei Ma,1 and Mark E. Scott1*

Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143,1 BioSource International, Camarillo, California 930122

Received 30 May 2007/ Returned for modification 13 August 2007/ Accepted 18 October 2007

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-1β [IL-1β], 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-1β, 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.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: University of California, San Francisco, Box 1374, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143-1374. Phone: (415) 476-3260. Fax: (415) 502-1222. E-mail: scottm{at}peds.ucsf.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 31 October 2007.

{dagger} Present address: Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110.

{ddagger} Present address: Dimatix, Santa Clara, CA 95050.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, January 2008, p. 49-54, Vol. 15, No. 1
1071-412X/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CVI.00216-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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