{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T01:57:48Z","timestamp":1776131868200,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,6]],"date-time":"2021-05-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620259200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,6]],"date-time":"2021-05-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620259200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Immunol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Preterm birth (PTB) is one of the major causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is commonly accepted that the act of giving birth is the final step in a proinflammatory signaling cascade, orchestrated by an intrauterine milieu coupled to hormonal cues. Consequently, the inflammatory process plays a pivotal role during the pathogenesis of human labor, both in term and preterm deliveries. The ability of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) to act as pro-inflammatory mediators arose the interest to study their role in normal and pathological pregnancies.<\/jats:p>\n                <jats:p>The aim of this work was to analyze the relative frequencies of ILCs subsets in pregnancy and the levels of IL-4, IL-17, IL-22, and IFN-\u03b3 as inflammatory mediators. Accordingly, we hypothesized that changes in the proportions of ILCs subpopulations could be related to preterm birth.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>We analyzed 15 full-term delivery samples and six preterm delivery samples. In the full-term group (FTB) peripheral blood was taken during routine blood analysis, on 3 occasions: 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester. After delivery, peripheral blood, cord blood and placenta were collected. In PTB group, peripheral blood samples were obtained on two occasions: before and 24\u2009h after treatment with progesterone. We used flow cytometry to analyze ILCs in maternal peripheral blood, placenta, and cord blood samples. Maternal peripheral blood and cord blood samples were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for IL-4, IL-17, IL-22, and IFN-\u03b3 plasma levels at the time of labor.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>We observed significantly increased relative frequencies of ILC2 and ILC3 in the decidua, as well as an increase of ILC2 in cord blood samples in PTB group, compared to FTB samples. We also found a decrease in IFN-\u03b3 in peripheral blood samples of the PTB group, suggesting a functional withdrawal. Additionally, IL-4, IL-17, IL-22 levels were similar in PTB and FTB groups, denoting a relevant role in mediating labor.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Our results suggest that ILC2 and ILC3 play a role in PTB by mediating an inflammatory response. Further work is necessary to evaluate the importance of ILCs in the regulation of labor.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12865-021-00423-x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,6]],"date-time":"2021-05-06T05:03:16Z","timestamp":1620277396000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Type 2 and type 3 innate lymphoid cells at the maternal-fetal interface: implications in preterm birth"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4697-0542","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o","family":"Mendes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paulo","family":"Rodrigues-Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ana Lu\u00edsa","family":"Areia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jani-Sofia","family":"Almeida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vera","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Manuel","family":"Santos-Rosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anabela","family":"Mota-Pinto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"423_CR1","unstructured":"Demographic statistics- Birth and Mortality indicators. 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Informed consent was obtained from each patient under strict ethical protocols.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"In the name of all the authors I give my full consent for publication.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"We wish to confirm that all authors contributing to this work have no conflicts of interest associated with this publication.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"28"}}