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Objective: This study was undertaken to estimate the frequency of inflammatory cytokine and Toll-like receptor gene polymorphisms in women with and without bacterial vaginosis (BV) in pregnancy. Study design: A secondary analysis was performed of pregnant women at less than 30 weeks' gestation enrolled as part of 2 multicenter studies. Eight hundred eighty-five women were assessed for BV (defined as Nugent's vaginal Gram stain score 7–10 and a pH »4.5). Comparisons were made between women with or without BV. Extracted maternal DNA was analyzed for 7 cytokine (interleukin[IL] 1β-511, 1L1β Exon 5 + 3954, IL6-174, IL8-845, IL10–1082, tumor necrosis factor α-238 [TNFα-238], TNFα-308) and 2 Toll-like receptor (TLR-4 299, TLR-4 399) gene polymorphisms. Results: BV was diagnosed in 497 women and 388 did not have BV. Genotype and allele frequency analyses revealed associations with BV and polymorphisms at the IL1β Exon 5 + 3954, IL6-174, IL10-1082, and TLR-4 399 loci. Women with BV were less likely to be homozygous (C/C) for IL1β Exon 5 +3954 (P = .04). Women with BV were also less likely to have polymorphisms at the IL10-1082 (P = .03) and TLR-4 399 (P = .04) loci in the univariate analysis. Women with BV were more likely to be heterozygous (G/C) for the IL6-174 genotype (P « .0001). Multivariate analysis, controlling for maternal race, confirmed the following associations with BV: IL1β Exon 5 + 3954 (odds Ratio [OR] 0.5, 95% CI 0.3–0.9) and IL6-174 (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.6–3.1). In addition, polymorphism at the IL8-845 locus was associated with a decreased risk for BV (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4–1.0). Conclusion: After controlling for race, polymorphisms at the 1L1β Exon 5 + 3954, IL6-174, and IL8-845 loci were associated with an altered rate of BV in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the administration of betamethasone decreases the endotoxin-induced preterm parturition rate and inhibits the risk of cytokines in the murine model.Study Design: Endotoxin was administered intraperitoneally at gestational day 15 (75% of gestation). In phase I, the duration of gestation was measured in 36 gravid C3H/HeOu mice that were equally divided into four treatment groups: control, endotoxin only, and two different dose regimens of betamethasone followed by endotoxin. In phase II, maternal serum and amniotic fluid concentrations of cytokines (interleukin-1alpha, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukin-6) were measured at 4 hours after endotoxin injection in 44 gravid mice divided equally in the four treatment groups.Results: The group that was exposed only to endotoxin was delivered at a significantly earlier gestational age compared with the control group (16.2 +/- 0.4 days vs 19.6 +/- 0.2 days; P <.01). The two groups that were pretreated with betamethasone before the endotoxin were delivered at gestational ages similar to the control group. There was a marked increase of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 levels in amniotic fluid of mice that were treated with endotoxin only compared with the control group (P <.001). No difference in cytokine levels was found in those mice that were premedicated with betamethasone compared with the control group.Conclusion: Antenatal administration of betamethasone to mice delayed preterm parturition that was induced by endotoxin. Elevations of amniotic fluid cytokine concentrations that were observed with endotoxin were not observed with pretreatment with betamethasone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]