Effect of the prenatal maternal environments and diets on cord blood interleukin-4 and interferon –gamma: A pilot study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: TThe environment of a pregnant woman can affect not only fetal growth and development, but also diseases in childhood. Neonatal cord blood cytokines are commonly used to evaluate the immune development of neonates. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the environment and diet during pregnancy on IL-4 and IFN-γ in neonatal cord blood. METHOD: A total of 111 pregnant women participated in this study from April to November 2010. Allergy history, sensitization assessed by the skin prick test, dietary intake and indoor environment were evaluated. IL-4 and IFN-γ levels were measured in the complete cord blood of neonates using real-time PCR. RESULTS: There were 54 pregnant women with allergic disease. Both IL-4 and IFN-γ levels in neonatal cord blood were higher in samples from allergic mothers than in non-allergic mothers (p<0.05). The indoor environment and nutrient intake were not different between allergic and non-allergic mothers, except regarding carpet use. When the cytokine levels were divided into quartiles, lower folate and vitamin B6 intake was associated with the highest levels of IL-4 in neonatal cord blood (p<0.05), and higher folate and vitamin B6 intake was associated with highest levels of IFN-γ in neonatal cord blood. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, a strong association between IL-4 and IFN-γ levels in cord blood and the intake of folate and vitamin B6 was found, which indicates that food intake during pregnancy might have a strong influence on IL-4 and IFN-γ levels in cord blood, to a greater extent than environmental factors.