Aqueous humor cytokine profile of patients with primary or recurrent ocular toxoplasmosis

Abstract

AbstractPurpose Toxoplasma gondii infection remains the most frequent cause of infectious posterior uveitis and a significant cause of visual impairment worldwide. Still, the immune mechanisms are largely unexplored. The aim of this study is to investigate the cytokine profiles of aqueous humor samples in patients with first or recurrent manifestation of ocular toxoplasmosis and to correlate findings with clinical characteristicsMethods Using the BioRad Multiplex immunoassay, we determined the concentrations of 27 cytokines/chemokines in aqueous humor specimens obtained from 16 patients with active (n=7) or recurrent (n=9) ocular toxoplasmosis. Results were compared to 5 matched control patients without intraocular infectionResults Using the Wilcoxon‐Mann‐Whitney‐Test significant changes could be identified in both groups affected by either initial or recurrent ocular toxoplasmosis compared to controls. Patients with initial manifestation revealed a significant increase (p < 0.05) of IL‐1RA, IL‐7, MIP1a and IP‐10. In addition significant changes in individuals affected by recurrent disease also differed from controls and became significant (p< 0.05) for TNF‐alpha, MIP‐1b and IP‐10. The cytokine/chemokine profiles however did not differ significantly between initial or recurrent ocular toxoplasmosis subgroups.Conclusion Our data suggests that MIP1 and IP‐10 are associated with both primary and recurrent ocular toxoplasmosis. These findings may support the important role of IP‐10 and MIP, as specific chemoattractants for activated T cells in parasitic disorders. In contrast to a recent report we were not able to correlate IL‐5 and VEGF with recurrences of the disease. A larger cohort is recruited to underline the results.