Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42485880›Full record

ArticleCytokine2026

Maternal and early-life longitudinal cytokine profiles in a South African birth cohort: the impact of HIV.

Tusekile S Kangwa, Catherine J Wedderburn, Jenna F Annandale, Kirsten A Donald, Francesca Little, Heather J Zar, Dan J Stein, Petrus J W Naudé

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Article in Cytokine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Tusekile S KangwaDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa.; Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa.. Electronic address: KNGSAR009@myuct.ac.za.
Catherine J WedderburnNeuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa.; Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; SA MRC Unit On Child & Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Jenna F AnnandaleDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa.; Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Kirsten A DonaldNeuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa.; Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Francesca LittleDepartment of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Heather J ZarDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; SA MRC Unit On Child & Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Dan J SteinDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa.; Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa.; SA MRC Unit On Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Petrus J W NaudéDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa.; Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionDuring pregnancy, exposure to maternal HIV and a disrupted cytokine environment may impact foetal immune development and health outcomes through cytokine-mediated mechanisms. We evaluated (i) peripheral blood cytokine differences in pregnant women with and without HIV, (ii) longitudinal trajectories in HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) and HIV-unexposed uninfected (HUU) children, and (iii) cytokine groupings. Additionally, we explored the impact of the timing of maternal antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation on cytokine levels and if cytokines predicted repeated hospitalisations during the first two years of life.

methodsWe assessed 399 mother-child pairs in the Drakenstein Child Health Study, mothers in pregnancy (n = 179 with HIV and n = 220 without HIV) and their children at 7 weeks, 2-, 3-, and 5-years. Eighteen serum immune markers were quantified with ELISA and multiplex assays. Group differences were assessed with linear regression, and longitudinal immune trajectories with mixed models. Cytokine patterns were identified using principal component analysis integrated with an ANOVA framework, and associations with hospitalisations were analysed using mixed-effects logistic regression.

resultsPregnant women living with HIV had lower GM-CSF, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, NGAL, and MMP-9 levels, and higher TNF-α, IFN-γ, and sCD14 levels than women without HIV. HEU children had lower GM-CSF, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-1β, IL-2, and IL-4, and higher sCD14 levels over time compared to HUU. ART initiation during compared to before pregnancy, was associated with higher maternal immune markers but not in children. Lower MMP-9 in mothers with HIV and lower MMP-9 and IL-10 in HEU and higher NGAL levels in HUU children predicted increased likelihood of repeated hospitalisations.

conclusionsAltered immune responses are present in mothers living with HIV that persist longitudinally in their HEU children, potentially contributing to their health outcomes.

Indexed as

CytokinesHIV InfectionsPregnancy Complications, InfectiousAdultBiomarkersBirth CohortChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornLongitudinal StudiesMaleMatrix Metalloproteinase 9PregnancySouth AfricaBiomarkersCytokinesMatrix Metalloproteinase 9CytokineHIV-exposed uninfected childrenImmune responseInflammationMonocytePregnancy

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.