A total of 421 patients hospitalized in St. Mary's Hospital were examined by indirect latex agglutination test in order to evaluate the Toxoplasma antibody in Korean from June to August 1981. The test sera of the patients were obtained from each age group by random sampling. The 421 samples of test sera showed negative in 153, 1:2 in 157, 1:4 in 59, 1:8 in 27, 1:16 in 7, 1:32 in 9, 1:64 in 2, 1:128 in 4 and 1:256 in 3 cases, respectively. The positive rate of Toxoplasma antibody was 4.3 percent in this sample when indirect latex antibodies of 1:32 or higher were regarded as positive. The titers of positive Toxoplasma antibodies were increased by age.
parasitology-protozoa ; Toxoplasma gondii ; toxoplasmosis ; immunology ; diagnosis

No abstract available.
Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Human ; Infant ; Male ; Serologic Tests ; Toxoplasma/immunology ; Toxoplasmosis, Congenital/complications ; Toxoplasmosis, Congenital/diagnosis ; Toxoplasmosis, Congenital/pathology*

Serological studies on toxoplasmosis were conducted with rabbits sera that were immunized with RH strain or infected with Beverley strain of Toxoplasma gondii. Complement fixation tests, agar-gel double diffusion tests and agar-gel immunoelectrophoresis were performed. Toxoplasma crude antigen was prepared from the organisms in mice peritoneal fluids, which were infected with RH strain of Toxoplasma gondii. The organisms were suspended in saline volume originally exudated and counted in hemocytometer for purity of the organisms over 99 per cent. These suspended organisms were prepared by sonication, and the solution was centrifuged for 30 min. at 10,000 rpm in 4C. These supernatant fluids were used as crude antigen. On the other hand, purified antigens were fractionated on Sephadex G-200 gel filtration. A Sephadex G-200 column, 80 by 4 cm, equilibrated with Tris-HCl-(0.1 M)-NaCl (1.0 M) buffer, pH 8.0 was used. The eluate fractions were collected in 3 ml per hour and the absorbance at 280 nm was measured with a Beckman Du-2 spectrophotometer. Each tube is pooled into 6 fractions by protein density graph. For immunization of rabbits, crude antigen of RH strain was emulsified with an equal amount of incomplete Freund's adjuvant and l ml of mixture was injected subcutaneously into them once a week for 5 successive weeks. Antisera were obtained at an interval of a week, beginning the first week after the last immunization, while several rabbits were infected with Beverley strain of Toxoplasma gondii by inoculating about 200 cysts and antisera were obtained from them serially at a week interval. The results were as follows: The sera from the rabbits immunized with the RH strain or infected with Beverley strain of Toxoplasma gondii againist the crude antigen showed the first positive reactions in 2 or 3 weeks after the administration or immunization in complement fixation tests. Maximum titers appeared in 4 or 5 weeks after immunization with RH strain and in 7 or 9 weeks after infection with Beverley strain respectively. Complement fixation tests showed the positive reactions in the rabbits sera immunized with RH strain against the purified antigens II, III, IV, V and VI: moreover, antigen IV fraction showed the highest titer. On the other hand in the rabbits sera infected with Beverley strain against the purifed antigens II, III and IV fractions showed the positive reaction; especially, antigen fraction IV showed the highest titer. In immuno-diffusion tests, the sera from the rabbits immunized with RH strain and infected with Beverley strain, against the crude antigen appeared the precipitin bands 2 weeks after the immunization or infection. And the former showed the 2 or 5 precipitin bands after 5-8 weeks and the latter showed the l or 2 precipitin bands after 6 weeks. The sera from the rabbits immunized with RH strain against the purified antigens II, III, IV,V and VI showed the precipitin bands, and the sera from the rabbits infected with Beverley strain against the purified antigens II, III and IV showed the precipitin bands in the immuno-diffusion tests. Especially antigen IV was the strongest reaction against the sera from RH strain and Beverley strain. In agar-gel immunoelectrophoresis, the immunized sera against the crude antigen showed 8 arcs. But the infected sera against the crude antigen showed 4 or 5 arcs. The immunized sera against the fractionated antigens II, III, IV, V, VI showed arcs, but against the fractionated antigen IV showed 6 arcs and in the antigens II, III, V, VI showed l or 2 arcs only. On the other hand, the infected sera against the fractionated antigens IV showed 4 arcs, II and III showed the l arcs, which was the most weak of all.
parasitology-protozoa-Toxoplasma gondii ; toxoplasmosis ; rabbit ; immunology ; electrophoresis

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

Toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic infection caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. T. gondii is widespread globally and causes severe diseases in individuals with impaired immune defences as well as congenitally infected infants. The high prevalence rate in some parts of the world such as South America and Africa, coupled with the current drug treatments that trigger hypersensitivity reactions, makes the development of immunotherapeutics intervention a highly important research priority. Immunotherapeutics strategies could either be a vaccine which would confer a pre-emptive immunity to infection, or passive immunization in cases of disease recrudescence or recurrent clinical diseases. As the severity of clinical manifestations is often greater in developing nations, the development of well-tolerated and safe immunotherapeutics becomes not only a scientific pursuit, but a humanitarian enterprise. In the last few years, much progress has been made in vaccine research with new antigens, novel adjuvants, and innovative vaccine delivery such as nanoparticles and antigen encapsulations. A literature search over the past 5 years showed that most experimental studies were focused on DNA vaccination at 52%, followed by protein vaccination which formed 36% of the studies, live attenuated vaccinations at 9%, and heterologous vaccination at 3%; while there were few on passive immunization. Recent progress in studies on vaccination, passive immunization, as well as insights gained from these immunotherapeutics is highlighted in this review.
Drug Discovery/trends ; Global Health ; Humans ; Immunization/*methods ; Immunotherapy/*methods/trends ; Protozoan Vaccines/immunology/isolation & purification ; Toxoplasma/*immunology ; Toxoplasmosis/*therapy

Mouse models of chronic toxoplasmosis and atopic dermatitis (AD) were combined to clarify the effect of opportunistic Toxoplasma gondii infection on the development of AD. AD was induced as a chronic contact hypersensitivity (CHS) with repeated challenge of 2,4,6-trinitro-1-chlorobenzene (TNCB) on the dorsal skin of mice. TNCB induced skin thickness increases in both normal and toxoplasmic mice. The changing patterns were different from the sigmoidal which saturated at 20 days in normal mice to the convex saturated at 12 days in toxoplasmic mice with the crossing at 18 days. Compared to normal mice, toxoplasmic mice presented CHS more severely in earlier times and then moderately in later times. These data suggest that host immune modification by T. gondii infection enhances CHS in early times of atopic stimulation but soothes the reaction of CHS in later times in mouse model.
Animals ; Dermatitis, Contact/*immunology/parasitology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Picryl Chloride/adverse effects ; Skin/immunology/parasitology ; Toxoplasmosis/*immunology/parasitology

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

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

Toxoplasma gondii has been shown to result in life-threatening encephalitis in immunocompromised patients after reactivation of dormant parasites. In order to obtain information on immune responses related to this phenomenon, BALB/c mice were infected with 25 cysts of the 76K strain of T. gondii, then, treated orally with dexamethasone (Toxo/Dexa-treated group) in order to reactivate the chronic toxoplasmosis. None of the T. gondii-infected mice died during the experimental periods, whereas the Toxo/Dexa-treated mice evidenced a significant attenuation of survival periods. Toxoplasma-specific IgG2a, IgA and IgM titers in sera were significantly depressed in the Toxo/Dexa-treated mice; however, the IgG1 sera titers were similar to those seen in the Toxoplasma-infected mice. The percentages of CD4+ and CD8 alpha + T cells in the Toxo/Dexa-treated mice were significantly reduced 2 weeks after dexamethasone treatment. IFN-gamma and IL-10 production levels in the Toxo/Dexa-treated mice were depressed significantly, whereas IL-4 production was increased temporarily. The expression levels of the Toxoplasma-specific P30 and B1 genes were found to have been increased in the Toxo/Dexa-treated mice in comparison with the Toxoplasmainfected mice. Collectively, the findings of this study demonstrate that reactivation of murine toxoplasmosis as the result of dexamethasone treatment induced a depression in Th1 immune responses, whereas Th2 immune responses were not significantly influenced.
Toxoplasmosis/*immunology/parasitology ; Toxoplasma/*immunology ; Th2 Cells/immunology ; Th1 Cells/immunology ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice ; Immunoglobulins/*biosynthesis/immunology ; Female ; Dexamethasone/*pharmacology ; Cytokines/*biosynthesis ; Antibodies, Protozoan/*biosynthesis/immunology ; Animals