BACKGROUNDTo search for the serological findings and early clinical manifestations as evidences for prevention and treatment TORCH infections in pregnant women and newborns as early as possible.

METHODSELASA was performed to screen specific anti-TORCH (Toxoplasma gondii, Cytomegalovirus, Rubella virus, Herpes simplex virus) Ig-M antibodies.

RESULTSTotally 1,554 in-patients who were treated in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of our hospital from January 2000 to January 2003 were retrospectively studied, 48 of them had TORCH infections. Cytomegalovirus (CMV), rubella and herpes simplex virus infections accounted for 52.1%, 33.3% and 14.6%, respectively. None of them had toxoplasma infection.

CONCLUSIONTORCH infections can cause multiorgan lesions, such as hearing impairment, hyperbilirubinemias and liver dysfunction, impairment of neurologic system, myocardial impairment, thrombocytopenia, and congenital heart disease.Rubella vaccine inoculation, serological screening during pregnancy and early period of newborn, intervention and treatment in the early period are most important.

Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; immunology ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; immunology ; Female ; Herpes Simplex ; immunology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Newborn, Diseases ; immunology ; virology ; Male ; Neonatal Screening ; Retrospective Studies ; Rubella ; immunology ; Toxoplasmosis ; immunology

The determination of the accurate immune status of pregnant women is crucial in order to prevent congenital toxoplasmosis. Equivocal results with conventional serological techniques are not uncommon when IgG titers are close to the cut-off value of the test, so that a confirmatory technique is needed. For this purpose, we developed a homemade immunoblot (IB) using soluble extract of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites and assessed it by testing 154 positive, 100 negative, and 123 equivocal sera obtained from pregnant women. In order to select the more valuable bands in terms of sensitivity and specificity, we used the Youden Index (YI). The highest YIs were those given by the 32, 36, 98, 21, and 33 bands. The simultaneous presence on the same blot of at least 3 bands showed a much higher YI (0.964) and was adapted as the positivity criterion. The analysis of results showed that our homemade IB correlated well with the commercial LDBIO Toxo II IgG(R) kit recently recommended as a confirmatory test (96.7% of concordance).
Female ; Humans ; Immunoenzyme Techniques/*methods ; Immunoglobulin G/*blood/immunology ; Pregnancy ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; Toxoplasmosis/*diagnosis

The aim of this study was to investigate the difference in the serum malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), and nitric oxide (NO) levels between normal and T. gondii-infected patients. To this end, MDA, GSH, and NO levels in the sera of 37 seropositive patients and 40 participants in the control group were evaluated. In Toxoplasma ELISA, IgG results of the patient group were 1,013.0 +/- 543.8 in optical density (mean +/- SD). A statistically significant difference was found between patients and the control group in terms of MDA, GSH, and NO levels. A decrease in GSH activity was detected, while MDA and NO levels increased significantly. Consequently, it is suggested that the use of antioxidant vitamins in addition to a parasite treatment shall prove useful. The high infection vs control ratio of MDA and NO levels probably suggests the occurrence as a mechanism of tissue damage in cases of chronic toxoplasmosis. Moreover, it is recommended that the patient levels of MDA, GSH, and NO should be evaluated in toxoplasmosis.
Animals ; Glutathione/*blood ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Malondialdehyde/*blood ; Nitric Oxide/*blood ; Oxidative Stress ; Toxoplasma ; Toxoplasmosis/*blood/immunology

OBJECTIVETo reveal the relationship among congenital Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection, T lymphocyte cell subsets in umbilical cord blood and pregnancy outcome.

METHODS784 umbilical cord blood samples were collected and information of pregnancy outcomes was collected in a hospital of Hefei city, Anhui province during March 2009 to May 2010. T. gondii IgM antibodies in the sera were detected by ELISA. For all neonates infected with T. gondii and 10 healthy neonates, T lymphocyte cell subsets were detected by flow cytometry.

RESULTSAccording to the detection results of T. gondii IgM antibodies, 784 neonates were divided into infection group (21 neonates) and control group (763 neonates). The body weight and 1 min Apgar score of infection group were (3116.4 ± 352.6) g and (8.21 ± 1.26) points, respectively, which were statistically lower than control group ((3220.1 ± 242.3) g and (8.77 ± 1.61) points, respectively) (P < 0.01). The proportion of adverse pregnancy outcome of infection group was 19.0% (4/21), which was statistically greater than control group (4.8%, 37/763) (P < 0.01). The percentage of CD(3)(+) T lymphocyte cells in umbilical cord blood in infection group with and without adverse pregnancy outcomes were (64.51 ± 5.27)% and (64.32 ± 4.56)%, respectively, which were statistically lower than control group ((69.32 ± 4.32)%) (P < 0.01). The ratio value of CD(4)(+)/CD(8)(+) in infection group with, without adverse pregnancy outcomes and control group are 1.39 ± 0.24, 1.64 ± 0.28 and 2.34 ± 0.46, respectively, which showed statistical difference between any 2 groups (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONT. gondii infection leads to adverse pregnancy outcomes and disorder of cellular immunity while T lymphocyte cell subsets are closely associated with adverse pregnancy outcome.

Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; cytology ; immunology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets ; immunology ; Toxoplasmosis, Congenital ; immunology

Toxoplasma gondii is one of the major agents of infectious abortions and due to its worldwide distribution can threat healthy pregnant women who had no previous exposure to this parasite. The present study was designed to investigate the contribution of T. gondii to spontaneous abortions in Zanjan, Northwest of Iran, using ELISA method. Blood Samples were collected from 264 mothers referred to the provincial hospitals of Zanjan due to spontaneous abortion. The sera were isolated and subjected to evaluate the anti-Toxoplasma IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies. The results showed IgG positive (IgG+) in 99 cases (37.5%). A total of 68 women (25.8%) showed seroconversion with IgM or IgA or both IgM and IgA. They included: IgM+ in 21 (8.0%), IgA+ in 23 (8.7%) and both IgM+ and IgA+ in 24 (9.1%) subjects. In 23 cases, positive titers of IgM and IgG were accompanied. In general, the analysis of anti-Toxoplasma antibody patterns, showed that about 17% of the spontaneous abortions were associated with serological patterns of acute infection. According to these findings, a considerable proportion of spontaneous abortions can be attributed to T. gondii in the study area.
Abortion, Spontaneous/immunology/*parasitology ; Antibodies, Protozoan/*blood ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A/blood ; Immunoglobulin G/blood ; Immunoglobulin M/blood ; Iran/epidemiology ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic/*immunology/parasitology ; Toxoplasma/*immunology ; Toxoplasmosis, Congenital/*immunology/parasitology

OBJECTIVETo explore the behavioral risk of toxoplasma infection in special population.

METHODSSerum samples from workers in slaughterhouse were collected and tested for the detection of cAg, toxo-IgG, toxo-IgM antibody to toxoplasma, using ELISA. Behavioral measurements were conducted through questionnaire, which was developed according to theory of reasoned action which consists of a measurement model that specifies the relation of measured to behavioral variables and a behavioral variable model to show the influence of behavior variables on each other. Factor analysis methods were used for estimating the parameter of the former and path analyses method for the latter.

RESULTSWith data from 302 research subjects, the responding rate was 95.87%. The overall infection rate was of 19.20% including 15.89% having cAg, 5.63% with toxo-IgG, 2.32% with toxo-IgM, 1.32% with the third of cAg, toxo-IgG and toxo-IgM, 2.65% with the both cAg and toxo-IgG, 1.99% with the both cAg and IgM respectively. There was significant association between toxoplasma infections and contact with dystocia or live pigs, body fluid or harslet. There was no relation between toxoplasma infections and abortion.

RESULTSfrom miscarriage factor analyses showed that except evaluation of behavioral outcomes and behavioral attitudes, internal consistence reliability of others behavioral variables was good (Cronbach's alpha > 0.7). These behavior variables could be explained by their measure items. Path analyses suggested that two components had provided significant independent contributions to those preventive behaviors which significantly correlated to toxoplama infections. Half of the contribution leading to toxoplasma infections had come from behavioral factors. Belief was relatively more important in predicting the preventive behavior than subjective norm.

CONCLUSIONOur findings supported the application of reasoned action theory in understanding the role of behavioral factors in toxoplasma infection.

Abattoirs ; Animals ; Antibodies, Protozoan ; blood ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Models, Biological ; Occupational Diseases ; blood ; etiology ; parasitology ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; statistics & numerical data ; Risk Factors ; Toxoplasma ; immunology ; Toxoplasmosis ; parasitology ; transmission ; Toxoplasmosis, Animal ; parasitology ; transmission

The breeding of domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) for human consumption has a long tradition in China. Infections that can affect the production of meat or even be transmitted from animals to humans are important to monitor, especially for public health reasons as well as for their impact on animal health. Thus, a total of 1,132 domestic rabbit sera from 4 regions in China were collected for serological screening for Encephalitozoon cuniculi and for Toxoplasma gondii by ELISA and modified agglutination test (MAT), respectively. Antibodies to E. cuniculi were detected in 248/1,132 (21.9%) sera tested while antibodies against T. gondii revealed a seroprevalence of 51/1,132 (4.5%). We believe that the present results are of epidemiological implications and public health importance due to the acknowledged susceptibility of humans to E. cuniculi and T. gondii infections. Therefore, routine screening tests of domestic rabbits are proposed considering the zoonotic potential of these parasites.
Animals ; Animals, Domestic/blood/microbiology/parasitology ; Antibodies, Fungal/*blood ; Antibodies, Protozoan/*blood ; China/epidemiology ; Encephalitozoon cuniculi/*immunology/isolation & purification ; Encephalitozoonosis/blood/microbiology/*veterinary ; Female ; Male ; Rabbits/blood/microbiology/parasitology ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Toxoplasma/*immunology/isolation & purification ; Toxoplasmosis, Animal/*blood/parasitology

Recombinant antigenic proteins of Toxoplasma gondii are alternative source of antigens which are easily obtainable for serodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis. In this study, highly antigenic secretory organellar proteins, dense granular GRA2 and GRA3, rhoptrial ROP2, and micronemal MIC2, were analyzed by bioinformatics approach to express as water-soluble forms of antigenic domains. The transmembrane region and disorder tendency of 4 secretory proteins were predicted to clone the genes into pGEX-4T-1 vector. Recombinant plasmids were transformed into BL21 (DE3) pLysS E. coli, and GST fusion proteins were expressed with IPTG. As a result, GST fusion proteins with GRA225-105, GRA339-138, ROP2324-561, and MIC21-284 domains had respectively higher value of IgG avidity. The rGST-GRA225-105 and rGST-GRA339-138 were soluble, while rGST-ROP2324-561 and rGST-MIC21-284 were not. GRA231-71, intrinsically unstructured domain (IUD) of GRA2, was used as a linker to enhance the solubility. The rGST-GRA231-71-ROP2324-561, a chimeric protein, appeared to be soluble. Moreover, rGST-GRA231-71-MIC21-284 was also soluble and had higher IgG avidity comparing to rGST-MIC21-284. These 4 highly expressed and water-soluble recombinant antigenic proteins may be promising candidates to improve the serodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis in addition to the major surface antigen of SAG1.
Animals ; Antibodies, Protozoan/immunology ; Antibody Affinity ; Antigens, Protozoan/chemistry/*diagnostic use/genetics/immunology ; *Gene Expression ; Immunoglobulin G/blood/immunology ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Recombinant Proteins/chemistry/*diagnostic use/genetics/immunology ; Serologic Tests/methods ; Solubility ; Toxoplasma/genetics/immunology/*metabolism ; Toxoplasmosis/diagnosis

Animals ; Antibodies, Protozoan ; analysis ; Antigens, Protozoan ; analysis ; Asthma ; blood ; parasitology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Toxoplasma ; immunology ; Toxoplasmosis ; blood

Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is a parasitic zoonosis with worldwide distribution. The present study investigated the prevalence of T. gondii in dogs in Zhanjiang city, southern China, using both serological and molecular detection. A total of 364 serum samples and 432 liver tissue samples were collected from the slaughter house between December 2012 and January 2013 and were examined for T. gondii IgG antibody by ELISA and T. gondii DNA by semi-nested PCR based on B1 gene, respectively. The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii IgG antibody was 51.9%, and T. gondii DNA was detected in 37 of 432 (8.6%) liver tissue samples. These positive DNA samples were analyzed by PCR-RFLP at 3'- and 5'-SAG2. Only 8 samples gave the PCR-RFLP data, and they were all classified as type I, which may suggest that the T. gondii isolates from dogs in Zhanjiang city may represent type I or type I variant. This study revealed the high prevalence of T. gondii infection in dogs in Zhanjiang city, southern China. Integrated measures should be taken to prevent and control toxoplasmosis in dogs in this area for public health concern.
Animals ; Antibodies, Protozoan/blood ; China/epidemiology ; Dog Diseases/epidemiology/*parasitology ; Dogs ; Female ; Genotype ; Liver/parasitology ; Male ; Toxoplasma/classification/genetics/immunology/*isolation & purification ; Toxoplasmosis, Animal/blood/epidemiology/*parasitology