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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic significance of the dynamics of cytokines and growth factors during pregnancy with and without preeclampsia. The study included 168 pregnant women at risk of hypertensive disorders. The levels of biomarkers of all pregnant women were studied at 12-16 weeks, 28-30 weeks and 36-38 weeks. These included cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-α, interferon-, γinterleukin-4) and growth factors (placental growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor). All pregnant women were divided into two groups: 124 patients with preeclampsia and 44 without preeclampsia (control group). In patients with preeclampsia, an increase in the level of tumour necrosis factorα- was observed, compared with the control group: a 6.1-fold increase at 12-16 weeks and a 5.9-fold increase at 36-38 weeks. The level of interferon-γ was also increased, by 44.3% in the first trimester of pregnancy and by 46.8% at 28-30 weeks, compared to the control group. The level of interleukin-4 did not significantly differ between the studied groups. The level of placental growth factor was reduced in pregnant women with preeclampsia at all stages of gestation, and at 28-30 weeks was reduced by 67.9% compared to the control group. The level of vascular endothelial growth factor was also reduced, by 75%, compared with the control group. An increase in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and decrease in growth factors may therefore be considered as potential predictors of the development of preeclampsia, and evaluation of these factors may be advocated in pregnant women with risk factors of preeclampsia.

The adaptive and innate immune system is important in both initiating and preventing functional disorders during pregnancy, one of which is pre-eclampsia. The research aims to conduct the comparative quantification of selected subpopulations of peripheral blood immunoregulatory cells in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia in the third trimester. The marker receptors CD4, CD8, CD95, CD25, and CD27 and the marker antigen HLA-DR were considered. The screening was performed by flow cytometry with dual phenotyping using phycoerythrin- and fluorescein-isothiocyanate-labeled monoclonal antibodies. Data processing consisted in calculating a likelihood value to assess the statistical significance of the difference between the samples. A statistically significant decrease in the subpopulation titer of T and B lymphocytes with marker receptors CD4, CD8, and CD19 was found in pre-eclampsia patients. In the CD4 carrier T-lymphocyte population, there was an increased expression of the CD25/CD95 activation and apoptosis markers. In the CD8 T-killer population, a decreased representation of the CD27/CD25/CD95 markers of differentiation, activation, and apoptosis was deterministic. The expression pattern of the major histocompatibility complex antigen HLA-DR did not change significantly in normality and pathology. The titer of peripheral natural killer cells carrying the CD56 marker increased in patients with various degrees of disease severity, while the number of CD16 natural killer remained at the level of the control group. The research results suggest that a change in the ratio of the above receptors is a diagnostic indicator for pre-eclampsia., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Immunology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)