Abstract. Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous parasite that can cause neurologic and ocular disease. We tested sera from 7,072 people 6 years of age in the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for immunoglobulin G antibodies and compared these results with two previous NHANES studies. The overall T. gondii antibody seroprevalence among persons 6 years of age in 2009-2010 was 13.2% (95% confidence limit [CL] 11.8%, 14.5%) and age-adjusted seroprevalence was 12.4% (95% CL 11.1%, 13.7%); age-adjusted seroprevalence among women 15-44 years of age was 9.1% (95% CL 7.2%, 11.1%). In U.S. born persons 12-49 years of age, the age-adjusted T. gondii seroprevalence decreased from 14.1% (95% CL 12.7%, 15.5%) in NHANES III (1988-1994 to 9.0% (95% CL 7.6%, 10.5%) in NHANES 1999-2004 in NHANES 2009-2010 (P 0.001 linear trend). Although T. gondii antibody presence is still relatively common, the prevalence in the United States has continued to decline.
can cause severe neurologic and ocular disease when transmitted congenitally and in immunosuppressed persons. Sera collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011 through 2014 in 13,507 persons ≥ 6 years old were tested for immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgM antibodies, and in those both IgG and IgM antibody positive, for IgG avidity. Overall, 11.14% (95% confidence limits [CL] 9.88%, 12.51%) were seropositive for IgG antibody (age-adjusted seroprevalence 10.42% [95% CL 9.19%, 11.76%]); in women aged 15-44 years, the age-adjusted IgG seroprevalence was 7.50% (95% CL 6.00%, 9.25%). In multivariable analysis, risk for IgG seropositivity increased with age and was higher in males; persons living below the poverty level; persons with ≤ a high school education compared with those with> a high school education; and non-Hispanic black, Mexican American, and foreign born non-Hispanic white persons compared with U.S.-born non-Hispanic white persons. Overall, 1.16% (95% CL 0.94%, 1.42%) were IgM antibody positive and 0.71%, (95% CL 0.54%, 0.92%) were both IgM and IgG antibody positive. In multivariable analysis, the significant risk factors for being both IgM and IgG positive were older age, crowding, and non-U.S. birth origin compared with U.S.-born persons. Among those positive for both IgM and IgG antibody, almost all had high avidity (all women aged 15-44 years had high avidity). antibody prevalence remains relatively low in the United States, although it is higher in non-U.S.-born persons, males, and some minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.
There is abundant epidemiological data linking prenatal environmental tobacco smoke with childhood asthma and wheezing, but the underlying molecular and physiological mechanisms that occur in utero to explain this link remain unelucidated. Several studies suggest that nicotine, which traverses the placenta, is a causative agent. Therefore, we studied the effects of nicotine on lung branching morphogenesis using embryonic murine lung explants. We found that the expression of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which mediate many of the biological effects of nicotine, is highest in pseudoglandular stage lungs compared with lungs at later stages. We then studied the effects of nicotine in the explant model and found that nicotine stimulated lung branching in a dose-dependent fashion. α-Bungarotoxin, an antagonist of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, blocked the stimulatory effect of nicotine, whereas GTS-21, a specific agonist, stimulated branching, thereby mimicking the effects of nicotine. Explants deficient in α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors did not respond to nicotine. Nicotine also stimulated the growth of the explant. Altogether, these studies suggest that nicotine stimulates lung branching morphogenesis through α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and may contribute to dysanaptic lung growth, which in turn may predispose the host to airway disease in the postnatal period.
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