Male gender promotes an increased inflammatory response to lipopolysaccharide in umbilical vein blood.

Objectives: To establish gender-specific differences in maternal and fetal immune response in healthy human fetuses at term.

Methods: Forty-five women with elective caesarean sections for uncomplicated singleton pregnancies were recruited for two studies. Using a multiplex biomarker immunoassay system, unstimulated maternal and fetal plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-8, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were measured from one study population.