The involvement of autoimmunity against retinal antigens in determining disease severity in toxoplasmosis |
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| Authors: | Vallochi Adriana Lima da Silva Rios Lília Nakamura Marceli Vicente Silveira Cláudio Muccioli Cristina Martins Maria Cristina Belfort Rubens Rizzo Luiz Vicente |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Dermatology, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah Tikva, Israel;2. Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel;1. Pediatric Rheumatology Unit, Children''s Institute, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil;2. Division of Rheumatology, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil;3. Pediatric Rheumatology Unit, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil;4. Pediatric Rheumatology Division, São Paulo State University (UNESP) – Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Brazil;5. Pediatric Rheumatology Unit, Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo, Brazil;6. Pediatric Rheumatology Unit, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil;7. Pediatric Rheumatology Unit, Ribeirão Preto Medical School – University of São Paulo, Brazil;8. Pediatric Rheumatology Unit, Hospital Infantil Darcy Vargas, Brazil;9. Pediatric Rheumatology Unit, Hospital Menino Jesus, Brazil;10. Pontifical Catholic University of Sorocaba, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | PURPOSE: Ocular lesions are frequent in various individuals infected with Toxoplasma gondii. Disease intensity in ocular toxoplasmosis varies greatly between patients. Autoimmunity has been suggested as a possible component to retinal destruction. METHODS: Immunologic parameters in the response to retina antigens were evaluated in infected persons with and without ocular lesions and in non-infected controls. Subjects were divided into groups on the basis of titers of serum antibodies to T. gondii, presence and severity of ocular lesions, and clinical history. RESULTS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with mild disease responded to one or more retinal antigens with a significantly higher frequency than patients without disease or with severe disease. Interestingly, the cytokines produced by the proliferating mononuclear cells did not follow any specific patterns, except for the fact that IL-4 and IL-5 were seldom detected. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that although the presence of an immune response towards autoantigens is not protective against the development of ocular lesions by the T. gondii, it may protect against the development of severe disease. |
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