Identification of the correlations between interleukin-27 (IL-27) and immune-inflammatory imbalance in preterm birth

Bioengineered. 2021 Dec;12(1):3201-3218. doi: 10.1080/21655979.2021.1945894.

Abstract

Preterm birth (PTB) is an immune-inflammatory disease that needs to be resolved. This study aimed to identify the role of interleukin-27 (IL-27), an immunomodulatory factor, in PTB and its associated mechanisms. Here, we analyzed the high-throughput of samples data from the maternal-fetal interface to the peripheral circulation obtained from public databases and reported that the elevated IL-27 was involved with the onset of PTB. Further bioinformatics analyses (e.g. GeneMANIA and GSEA) revealed that IL-27 overexpression in the peripheral circulation as well as maternal-fetal interface is related to the activation of the immune-inflammatory process represented by IFN-γ signaling, etc. In addition, IL-27 and immune infiltration correlation analysis demonstrated that IL-27 mediates this immune-inflammatory imbalance, plausibly mainly through monocyte-macrophage and neutrophils. This finding was further validated by analyzing additional datasets. Overall, this is the first study to elaborate on the role of IL-27-mediated immuno-inflammation in PTB from the perspective of bioinformatics, which may provide a novel strategy for the prevention and treatment of PTB.

Keywords: Preterm birth; immune; inflammation; interleukin-27; mechanism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Computational Biology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Inflammation* / genetics
  • Inflammation* / immunology
  • Inflammation* / metabolism
  • Inflammation* / physiopathology
  • Interleukins / analysis*
  • Pregnancy
  • Premature Birth* / genetics
  • Premature Birth* / immunology
  • Premature Birth* / metabolism
  • Premature Birth* / physiopathology
  • Transcriptome / genetics
  • Transcriptome / immunology

Substances

  • Interleukins
  • MYDGF protein, human

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Youth [No. 81801483], The Chongqing Municipal Health Commission [No. 2020MSXM029], The National Key Research and Development Program of Reproductive Health & Major Birth Defects Control and Prevention [No. 2016YFC1000407], The Chongqing Science and Technology Commission [cstc2017shms-zdyfX0034], The Chongqing Municipal Education Commission [No. CYB20141], and The Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province [No. 2020YFQ0006].