CRP and endothelial dysfunction: Previous studies have shown that increased levels of several maternal cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, and CRP, as well as endothelial dysfunction markers, including soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin), were significantly associated with preterm delivery [5,6,7,26,29,30].