Phenotypic and metabolic characteristics of maternal monocytes and granulocytes in preterm labor with intact membranes

MT Gervasi, T Chaiworapongsa, N Naccasha… - American journal of …, 2001 - Elsevier
Objective: Experimental and clinical studies support a role for the fetus in the control of the
onset of labor. Fetal systemic inflammation, but not a maternal inflammatory response, has
been linked to the onset of preterm labor and delivery on the basis of the determination of
inflammatory cytokines in fetal and maternal blood. We propose that parturition requires
fetomaternal cooperation and that inflammation is an integral part of the parturitional
process. This study used flow cytometry, a sensitive technique for the detection of …