{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T11:58:53Z","timestamp":1770983933565,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2006,4,21]],"date-time":"2006-04-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1145577600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/journals\/pages\/open_access\/funder_policies\/chorus\/standard_publication_model"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2006,4,21]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Summary<\/jats:title><jats:p>Vitamin A supplementation reduces child mortality in populations at risk of vitamin A deficiency and may also reduce maternal mortality. One possible explanation for this is that vitamin A deficiency is associated with altered immune function and cytokine dysregulation. Vitamin A deficiency in pregnancy may thus compound the pregnancy-associated bias of cellular immune responses towards Th-2-like responses and exacerbate susceptibility to intracellular pathogens. We assessed mitogen and antigen-induced cytokine responses during pregnancy and lactation in Ghanaian primigravidae receiving either vitamin A supplementation or placebo. This was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of weekly vitamin A supplementation in pregnant and lactating women. Pregnancy compared to postpartum was associated with a suppression of cytokine responses, in particular of the proinflammatory cytokines interferon (IFN)-\u03b3 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-\u03b1. Mitogen-induced TNF-\u03b1 responses were associated with a decreased risk of peripheral parasitaemia during pregnancy. Furthermore, vitamin A supplementation was significantly associated with an increased ratio of mitogen-induced proinflammatory cytokine (IFN-\u03b3) to anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. The results of this study indicate that suppression of proinflammatory type 1 immune responses and hence immunity to intracellular infections, resulting from the combined effects of pregnancy and vitamin A deficiency, might be ameliorated by vitamin A supplementation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2249.2006.03082.x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2006,4,21]],"date-time":"2006-04-21T22:56:19Z","timestamp":1145660179000},"page":"392-400","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":35,"title":["Vitamin A supplementation increases ratios of proinflammatory to anti-inflammatory cytokine responses in pregnancy and lactation"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"144","author":[{"given":"S E","family":"Cox","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London, UK"},{"name":"Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, LSHTM, London, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"P","family":"Arthur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London, UK"},{"name":"Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, Kintampo, Brong Ahafo Region, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"B R","family":"Kirkwood","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"K","family":"Yeboah-Antwi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, Kintampo, Brong Ahafo Region, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"E M","family":"Riley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, LSHTM, London, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2006,4,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"2022010518593504600_b1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.1084\/jem.175.1.111","article-title":"Immunity to Trichinella spiralis infection in vitamin A-deficient mice","volume":"175","author":"Carman","year":"1992","journal-title":"J Exp Med"},{"key":"2022010518593504600_b2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.1093\/jn\/126.1.94","article-title":"Vitamin A deficiency diminishes the salivary immunoglobulin A response and enhances the serum immunoglobulin G response to influenza A virus infection in BALB\/c mice","volume":"126","author":"Stephensen","year":"1996","journal-title":"J Nutr"},{"key":"2022010518593504600_b3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1348-0421.1992.tb01644.x","article-title":"Correlation between increased susceptibility to primary Toxoplasma gondii infection and depressed production of gamma interferon in pregnant mice","volume":"36","author":"Shirahata","year":"1992","journal-title":"Microbiol Immunol"},{"key":"2022010518593504600_b4","first-page":"279","article-title":"Immune response in a murine model of congenital toxoplasmosis: increased susceptibility of pregnant mice and transplacental passage of Toxoplasma gondii are type 2-dependent","volume":"39","author":"Thouvenin","year":"1997","journal-title":"Parasitologia"},{"key":"2022010518593504600_b5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1084\/jem.169.1.59","article-title":"Reciprocal expression of interferon gamma or interleukin 4 during the resolution or progression of murine leishmaniasis. 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