Anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in patients with beta-hemoglobinopathies: the first report in the Americas

Abstract

BackgroundIn Brazil, there have been no previous studies of Toxoplasma gondii infection in sickle cell anemia patients and carriers of severe forms of beta-thalassemia. This study evaluated T. gondii infection in patients with beta-hemoglobinopathies.MethodsA total of 158 samples, 77 (48.7%) men and 81 (51.3%) women, were evaluated. Three groups were formed: G1 (85 patients with sickle cell disease); G2 (11 patients with homozygous beta-thalassemia; G3 (62 patients with heterozygous beta-thalassemia). ELISA was employed to identify anti-T. gondii IgM and IgG antibodies, and molecular analysis was performed to determine beta-hemoglobin mutations. Fisher’s exact test was used to compare frequencies of anti-T. gondii IgM and IgG antibodies in respect to gender and age.ResultsAnti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were found in 43.5% of individuals in G1, 18.1% in G2 and 50% in G3. All samples from G1 and G2 were seronegative for anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies, but 3.2% from G3 were seropositive. Considering anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies, no statistical significant differences were found between these groups nor in seroprevalence between genders within each group. Despite this, comparisons of the mean ages between G1, G2 and G3 were statistically significant (G2 vs. G1: p value = 0.0001; G3 vs. G1: p-value <0.0001; G3 vs. G2: p-value = 0.0001).ConclusionA comparison by age of patients with sickle cell anemia showed a trend of lower risk of infection among younger individuals. Therefore, this study demonstrates that T. gondii infection occurs in patients with beta-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia in Brazil as seen by the presence of anti-T. gondii IgM and IgG antibodies.

Prevalence and risk factors profile of seropositive Toxoplasmosis gondii infection among apparently immunocompetent Sudanese women

“…Also, our result was lower than those reported in different countries as Ghana [26], Cameroon [27] and Ethiopia [28–33]. However, this seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies was higher than that reported in European, North and West American continents [9, 34]. Such variations could be due to different study settings in terms of multiple climatic conditions, heterogeneous study population and risk factors profile such as contact with pets, hygienic practice, and feeding habit [28, 29, 31, 35, 36].…”

Prevalence and risk factors profile of seropositiveToxoplasmosis gondiiinfection among apparently immunocompetent Sudanese women

“…Also, our result was lower than those reported in different countries as Ghana (26), Cameroon (27) and Ethiopia (28–33). However, this seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies was higher than that reported in European, North and West American continents (9, 34). Such variations could be due to different study settings in terms of multiple climatic conditions, heterogenous study population and risk factors profile such as contact with pets, hygienic practice, and feeding habit (28, 29, 31, 35, 36).…”

Debunking the “junk”: Unraveling the role of lncRNA–miRNA–mRNA networks in fetal hemoglobin regulation

“…Infections pose a serious threat, and is reported to be the major cause of mortality and morbidity in thalassemic patients (Vento, Cainelli, and Cesario 2006). Although few studies have already reported the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma infection in β-hemoglobinopathies (Ferreira et al 2017)(El-Tantawy, Darwish, and Eissa 2019), no study has reported the possible association of HbF regulation with toxoplasmosis. In our study, we have identified the possible link of ZEB-AS1-has-miR-3646-ALOX5 axis with toxoplasmosis.…”