Dynamics of Cytokines and Chemokines During the Peripartum Period in People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Abstract

The postdelivery decline in chemokines observed in this study has not previously been reported. This shift may result from two mechanisms: greater-than-expected placental chemokine production or the degradation of key signaling molecules during parturition and early uterine involution. Additionally, the rise in proinflammatory markers from enrollment to postdelivery suggests a persistent inflammatory state, either unaffected by fetal delivery or worsened by tissue damage in the gestational parent.