Measurement Of Cytokines In Cervical Fluids

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Abstract

The relationship between Herpes viruses and neoplasia has been quite well documented although the role played by host factors in this relationship is still unknown. The prime objective of this project is to determine whether multi-analyte cytokine profiles measured in cervical specimens, from women infected with oncological types of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), can predict risk of subsequent progression to high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Using a technique called recycling immunoaffinity chromatography (RIC), examination of cytokine profiles in cervical fluid has been performed to determine which cytokines and other factors appear to be elevated or activated during the neoplastic process. 30 analyte panels were employed to compare cytokine profiles in samples from women with high-grade CIN to samples from women with oncogenic HPV infection and normal controls. From these studies it was found that the pro-inflammatory cytokines and cell-mediated immunity determining factors were critical in predicting neoplastic progression. Both initial and defined studies have demonstrated the efficacy of the RIC system and have shown that cytokine panels are useful in determining the different patient groups. Additional studies demonstrated that the RIC system was a reliable tool applicable to epidemiological field studies.