Immunostaining method to explore cellular immunity against toxoplasma gondii in Iraqi women with a history of abortion

ABSTRACT

To explore cellular immunity against Toxoplasma gondii in Iraqi women with a history of abortion using the immunostaining method. Sixty women who had abortion were selected for this study. The presence of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies in their sera was confirmed via ELISA testing. Heparinized blood and serum were collected. The women were divided into three groups according to the presence of specific anti-Toxoplasma antibodies in their serum. These groups included women with IgG [18], women with IgM [14] and women with both IgG and IgM [12]. The other 16 women had no antibodies against Toxoplasma. Twenty-four healthy-looking women had been selected as controls. Those that revealed any antibody titer against Toxoplasma were excluded from the study. The isolated peripheral blood leukocytes [PBL] were tested for cell surface markers [CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD71] using monoclonal antibodies against T-cell subsets. All the surface makers revealed significantly higher percentages when compared to the healthy controls. The results indicate a strong cellular immune response during toxoplasmosis