New approach to differentiate primary from latent Toxoplasma gondii abortion through immunoglobulin and DNA interpretation

• Published in: Microbial pathogenesis Vol. 125; pp. 66 - 71
• Main Authors: Barakat, Ashraf M.A., Ahmed, Sylvia O., Zaki, Mona S., El Fadaly, Hassan A., Abd El-Razik, Khaled A., El-Hariri, Hazem M., Johar, Dina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2018
• Subjects: Abortion; Abortion, Septic - diagnosis; Antibodies, Protozoan - blood; Diagnostic Tests, Routine - methods; DNA, Protozoan - blood; Egypt; ELISA; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - methods; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin M - blood; PCR; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - diagnosis; Toxoplasma - genetics; Toxoplasma - immunology; Toxoplasma - isolation & purification; Toxoplasmagondii; Toxoplasmosis - complications; Toxoplasmosis - diagnosis; Egypt; Toxoplasmagondii; Abortion; PCR; Egypt; ELISA
• ISSN: 0882-4010; 1096-1208
• DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2018.09.001

Toxoplasma gondii is an acute or latent zoonotic abortifacient human protozoan. Women may be aborted due to recent or latent infection during pregnancy or order to flare up of the dormant bradyzoites to acute tachyzoites (latent opportunistic relapse). 1) to validate the interpretation of IgM and IgG immunoglobulins seromonotoring with DNA comparative results in differentiating recent from latent T. gondii abortion. Blood with the corresponding placental or uterine wash samples were collected from 73 aborted Egyptian women from Cairo and Giza labour wards. Patients aborted in any of the phases (Ph-1, Ph-2, Ph-3 and Ph-4 were corresponding to abortion at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters plus females who gave birth with congenital anomalies), respectively. All aborted patients were assayed serologically by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for IgM and IgG titers and the compatible DNA from placenta and uterine wash tissues by conventional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) specific for T. gondii. Sero-positive aborted women were 50.7% by ELISA versus 37% by PCR. Not all T. gondii sero-positive aborted women were having T. gondii DNA or harboring compatible placental T. gondii cysts. This denotes that immunoglobulins alone are insufficient criteria for confirming toxoplasma abortion. Immunoglobulins with DNA comparative results can possibly differentiate recent from latent T. gondii abortion at higher precision. We recommend the need for routine monitoring of T. gondii i.e. (pre-, during and post-delivery). •In Egypt, estimating the incidence of abortion from Toxoplasma in the absence of population based analysis and limited surveillance studies is challenging.•This study assessed the diagnostic role of combining quantitative PCR with immunoglobulin serological testing of Toxoplasma.•Titers of IgM and IgG, corresponding to DNA connect ecological and zoonotic interpretation.•Immunoglobulins when combined with quantitative DNA are useful in differentiating recent from latent infection at high precision.•Immunoglobulins when combined with quantitative DNA helps avoiding the complications, hospital admissions.