Pregnancy-associated inflammatory markers are elevated in pregnant women with systemic lupus erythematosus

► Cytokines and chemokines are important for pregnancy outcome. ► Women with SLE responded to pregnancy in a similar way as controls. ► Women with SLE had increased cytokine and chemokine activity during pregnancy. ► Women with active disease had the highest levels of serum chemokines and cytokines. ► These changes might increase their risk for pregnancy complications and flares.