Gondii Antibodies In Patients Research Articles

Prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in tuberculosis patients

Despite the proven association between a co-infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Toxoplasma gondii, few studies address how this relationship could interfere with latent infection or prognosis of tuberculosis or toxoplasmosis. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies in patients with tuberculosis and their clinical-epidemiological association. Methods: Were evaluated antibodies anti-T. gondii in patients diagnosed with tuberculosis and in treatment. Clinical, laboratory and radiological data were obtained from medical records. The present study demonstrated a seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies (80%), despite that, none of the characteristics evaluated among the TB patients were associated with the presence of anti-T. gondii antibodies. Hence, it’s possible to conclude that patients with tuberculosis (TB) have a high prevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies, and it’s recommended to evaluate the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies against T. gondii in patients recently diagnosed with tuberculosis and throughout anti-TB treatment to evaluate possible complications.

Investigating Risk Factors and Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma Gondii Antibodies in Patients Referred to the Central Laboratory of Ilam City, Iran

Background and Aims: Toxoplasmosis is a protozoan infection caused by a forced intracellular parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, a branch of the apicomplexa found in humans and numerous species of animals. This study aimed to determine the titer of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies in patients referred to the Central Laboratory of Ilam City and to define their effective factors in the prevalence of this disease using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.
 Materials and Methods: The current study was a descriptive cross-sectional study with a random sampling of 116 patients' serum referred to the Central Laboratory of Ilam City. Samples were analyzed using ELISA for the presence of Immunoglobulin (Ig)M, IgG antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii.
 Results: Twenty-three samples (19.8%) out of 116 serum samples were detected using anti-Toxoplasma antibodies. Nineteen samples out of these 23 (16.4%) samples were antibody IgG while the other 4 were IgM antibodies. The results of the Chi-square test showed a significant difference between IgG-positive titer and sex, level of education, place of residence, age, and marital status; however, no significant difference was found between these variables and positive IgM titer.
 Conclusion: As a large number of people are susceptible to acute toxoplasmosis infection and lack proper health information, it is necessary to adopt monitoring and control measures by health care officials to prevent the infection through the necessary training and health recommendations.

<i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> infection in patients with malignant and benign bone tumours

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an intracellular parasite that infects humans, and seroprevalence of its infection varies from about 10 to 80 percent in different countries with a higher prevalence in warmer and humid regions. In this study, the rate of acute and chronic toxoplasmosis in patients with benign or malignant bone tumours was investigated. Fifty-three patients who suffered from various bone tumours, as well as sixty-five healthy controls with an unknown sero-logical profile for anti-Toxoplasma antibodies, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Anti-Toxoplasma antibodies were detected in serum samples using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and blood samples of them were used for real-time PCR. Thirty-two (60.32%) and twenty-one (39.63%) of patients had malignant tumours and benign tumours, respectively. The results showed a higher and significant seropositivity rate of IgM antibodies in primary bone tumour patients compared to the control group and Toxoplasma DNA became positive in 18.86% of patients with primary bone tumours and 6.15% of controls. Surprisingly, the high presence of parasite DNA was detected in patients with malignant tumours. The seroprevalence of T. gondii IgM antibodies and DNA positivity among the cancer patients were significantly higher than healthy individuals. Also, chronic toxoplasmosis (it was shown with IgG positive) appears to be more common in people with benign cancers than malignancies. The study showed a relatively high seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies in patients with primary bone cancer. However, the considerable rate of positive blood samples for the presence of parasite’s DNA should not be ignored. A key to the effective management of diseases in immunosuppressed individuals is prompt and accurate diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. Moreover, it seems that PCR tests may be more reliable than serological methods and it could be considered as a precise method for diagnosis of acute toxoplasmosis.

Serological Evaluation of Anti-Toxoplasma gondii Antibodies in Patients with Acute Leukemia and Lymphoma through Chemotherapy

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that belongs to the family Coccidae. We aimed to evaluate IgG avidity and the changes of anti-Toxoplasma immunoglobulins M (IgM) and G (IgG) in patients with acute leukemia and lymphoma. Ninety eight patients with Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and lymphoma, selected from patients referring to Imam Reza Hospital of Tabriz (38°04'N 46°18'E), in terms of the presence of anti-Toxoplasma IgM, IgG, IgG avidity antibodies and the major risk factors were evaluated. The results of pre-chemotherapy evaluation showed that of the examined patients, only two cases, one patient with ALL and another patient with lymphoma, had a positive IgM titer. Overall, 46 cases had positive IgG titers, including 20 patients with AML, 15 patients with ALL and 11 patients with lymphoma. Three (3.06%) patients were positive for anti-T. gondii IgM and one of them was with new infection of toxoplasmosis in lymphoma patients. The post-chemotherapy IgG titer evaluation showed 46 [46.9% (95% CI 37.4-56.7)] positive IgG cases that this result was similar to the result of pre-treatment phase. One [1% (95% CI 0.2-5.6)] positive IgG avidity case was detected using ELISA method, in a patient with lymphoma whose IgM was also positive. There was no significant difference between the type of leukemia and the history of contact with cat. Performing specialized tests to diagnose toxoplasma infection before starting treatment, in immunodeficiency patients who undergo chemotherapy, is necessary; therefore, these tests should be considered in therapeutic protocols.

Host-parasite interaction associated with major mental illness.

Clinical studies frequently report that patients with major mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have co-morbid physical conditions, suggesting that systemic alterations affecting both brain and peripheral tissues might underlie the disorders. Numerous studies have reported elevated levels of anti-T. gondii antibodies in patients with major mental illnesses, but the underlying mechanism was unclear. Using multidisciplinary epidemiological, cell biological, and gene expression profiling approaches, we report here multiple lines of evidence suggesting that a major mental illness-related susceptibility factor, Disrupted in schizophrenia (DISC1), is involved in altered host immune responses against Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection. Specifically, our cell biology and gene expression studies have revealed that DISC1 Leu607Phe variation, which changes DISC1 interaction with activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), modifies gene expression patterns upon T. gondii infection. Our epidemiological data have also shown that DISC1 607 Phe/Phe genotype was associated with higher T. gondii antibody levels in sera. Although further studies are required, our study provides mechanistic insight into one of the few well-replicated serological observations in major mental illness.

Seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in patients receiving cancer treatment

Amac: Toxoplasma gondii dunya uzerinde pek cok canli turunu enfekte eden ve insanlarda ozellikle immun sistemi baskilanmis hastalarda olumle sonuclanabilecek klinik tablolara yol acan bir protozoondur. Kanser hastalarinda uygulanan kemoterapi ve radyoterapi hem hucresel hem de humoral immun sistemi bozarak latent durumda bulunan T. gondii ' nin reaktivasyonuna yol acmaktadir. Calismamizda, Sivas Cumhuriyet Universitesi Saglik Hizmetleri Uygulama ve Arastirma Hastanesine basvuran ve kanser tedavisi goren hastalarda T. gondii seroprevalansinin ELISA yontemi ile belirlenmesi amaclanmistir. Yontem: Calisma, Cumhuriyet Universitesi Saglik Hizmetleri Uygulama ve Arastirma Hastanesi Radyasyon Onkolojisi Poliklinigine basvuran, 18-80 yas araliginda hastalar uzerinde yapilmis ve orneklem sayisi, 100 kemoterapi alan kanser hastasi ve 100 saglikli kontrol grubu kisiden olusturulmustur. Bu kisilerden alinan kan orneklerinde Toxoplasma IgG ve IgM antikorlari ELISA yontemi ile arastirilmistir. Bulgular: Calismamizda, Cumhuriyet Universitesi Saglik Hizmetleri Uygulama ve Arastirma Hastanesinde kemoterapi alan 100 kanserli hastanin 60’inda (%60.0) IgG pozitifligi saptanmis olup, kontrol grubunun 27’sinde (%27.0) pozitiflik gorulmustur. Aralarindaki farklilik onemli bulunmustur. Calismaya alinan kanser hastalari baslica; akciger, meme, mide, kolon, over kanserlerinden olusmaktadir. Kanserli hastalarla kontrol grubunun her ikisinde de bir kiside (%1.0) IgM pozitifligi saptanmis olup gruplar arasi farklilik onemsiz bulunmustur. Sonuc: Bagisiklik sistemi baskilanmis kanser hastalarinda, bagisiklik sistemi normal olan bireylerde daha nadir gorulen toksoplazmoz gibi firsatci infeksiyonlara daha sik rastlanmaktadir. Bu kisiler hem enfeksiyonlara daha yatkindir hem de daha once gecirilmis olan toksoplazmozun reaktivasyon riski bu hastalarda daha yuksektir. Bu nedenle; bu hastalarin belirli periyotlarla Toxoplasma acisindan degerlendirilmeleri uygun olacaktir.

Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii serodiagnosis in human immunodeficiency virus carriers.

Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii belong to the Sarcocystidae family, and both have one definitive and various intermediary hosts. Owing to their weak immune systems, immunocompromised persons might be prone to opportunistic infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of anti- N. caninum and anti- T. gondii antibodies in immunocompromised individuals. This cross-sectional study investigated the rates of N. caninum and T. gondii , as assessed using immunofluorescent antibody reaction (IFAT) with 1:50 and 1:16 dilution, respectively, in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The seropositivity for N. caninum was 26.1% (81/310) in Mato Grosso do Sul and 31.2% (10/32) in Paraná and for T. gondii was 76.8% (238/310) in Mato Grosso do Sul and 68.7% (22/32) in Paraná. There is evidence of anti- N caninum and anti- T. gondii antibodies in patients with HIV. Other aspects of T. gondii , which is a zoonosis, and N. caninum , which might affect immunodeficient individuals, need to be evaluated and reported.

Toxoplasma gondii: bystander or cofactor in rheumatoid arthritis

Parasitic infections may induce variable immunomodulatory effects and control of autoimmune disease. Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a ubiquitous intracellular protozoan that was recently associated with autoimmunity. This study was undertaken to investigate the seroprevalence and clinical correlation of anti-T. gondii antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We evaluated sera from European patients with RA (n=125) and SLE (n=164) for the prevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies (ATXAb), as well as other common infections such as Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr, and Rubella virus. The rates of seropositivity were determined utilizing the LIAISON chemiluminescent immunoassays (DiaSorin, Italy). Our results showed a higher seroprevalence of ATXAb in RA patients, as compared with SLE patients [63 vs. 36%, respectively (p=0.01)]. The rates of seropositivity of IgG against other infectious agents were comparable between RA and SLE patients. ATXAb-seropositivity was associated with older age of RA patients, although it did not correlate with RA disease activity and other manifestations of the disease. In conclusion, our data suggest a possible link between exposure to T. gondii infection and RA.

Infectious Uveitis in Thailand: Serologic Analyses and Clinical Features

Purpose: To determine the seroprevalence of various infectious agents in Thai patients with uveitis. Methods: Prospective study of 101 consecutive patients with uveitis, 100 HIV-infected retinitis patients, and 100 nonuveitis controls. Results: Antibodies against T. gondii were detected in 31/101 non-HIV patients, mostly with posterior uveitis and focal retinitis, and were significantly higher than in other groups examined. Antibodies for T. pallidum and Leptospira were observed more frequently in patients with HIV-infected retinitis. Active tuberculosis in non-HIV patients was not found. Conclusions: Seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies in patients with non-HIV posterior uveitis was higher than in nonuveitis controls and HIV patients with retinitis.

Anti-Toxoplasma gondii Antibodies in Patients With Schizophrenia--Preliminary Findings in a Turkish Sample

Schizophrenia is a serious neuropsychiatric disease of uncertain etiology. We investigated the seropositivity rate for anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in patients with schizophrenia to ascertain a possible relationship between Toxoplasma gondii and schizophrenia. We selected 100 patients with schizophrenia, 50 with depressive disorder, and 50 healthy volunteers to investigate the seropositivity rate of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies by ELISA. The seropositivity rate for anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies among schizophrenia patients (66%) was significantly higher than among patients with depressive disorder or healthy volunteers (P < .01). Thus, there might be a causal relationship between toxoplasmosis and the etiology of schizophrenia.

Anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in patients with chronic heart failure

Chronic heart failure (CHF) involves interactions between the cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and immune systems. This study investigated the seropositivity rate for anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies by ELISA in patients with CHF. Ninety-seven patients with CHF and 50 healthy volunteers were selected for this investigation. The seropositivity rate for anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies among CHF patients (68%) was significantly higher than in healthy volunteers (36%). Thus, parasitological screening of this group of patients should be periodically performed to prevent the possible dissemination of toxoplasmosis.

Investigation of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in patients with neoplasia

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in patients with neoplasia. One hundred and eight patients with neoplasia and 108 healthy controls were studied for the presence of anti-T. gondii antibodies using a micro ELISA and peroxidase-labelled anti-human IgG (rabbit) and IgM (goat). Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were detected in 68 (63.0 %) patients and in 21 (19.4 %) of the controls, which was a statistically significant difference. In addition, anti- T. gondii IgM antibodies were detected in seven (6.5 %) patients and in one (0.9 %) control. A high percentage of positivity for Toxoplasma antibodies in patients with neoplasia was detected. Therefore, parasitological surveys of this patient group should be periodically performed.