Estimating the Role of IL-10 and IL-17 in the Acute and Chronic Toxoplasmosis

Abstract

The common public health problem, toxoplasmosis, is a foodborne zoonosis resulting from the eukaryotic, single-celled protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Active immune response triggers against the invading parasite include pro-inflammatory and regulatory cytokines release. Interleukin-10 is a pleiotropic immunoregulatory cytokine which has a potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects and plays a significant role in maintaining the balance of the immune response, which serves in the clearance of toxoplasmic infection and minimizing the possibly caused damage to the host. Whereas interleukin-17 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that has a role in the raised inflammation due to disease development and can mediate the protective innate immunity against the parasite. The current study aimed to determine the value of these two biomarkers in the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis and the differentiation between acute and chronic infection by estimating their level in the patients' serum. Eighty serum samples were collected from previously confirmed female toxoplasmic patients in addition to ten healthy female control. The IgM and IgG tests were repeated for them to differentiate between acute and chronic infections. The level of IL-10 and IL-17 were measured using ELISA test. The statistical analysis reached that the IL-10 level is higher in the patients with acute infection than in chronic infection patients; the level of IL-17 is prominently higher in the acute infection group. These findings lead to conclude that IL-10 is helpful in the differentiation between the two phases of toxoplasmosis, but estimating the specific IgM and IgG levels with it can improve its role in the diagnosis and differentiation between the two phases of the disease. Additionally, IL-17 can detect the acute infection and differentiate between the phases and severity of the disease. It can improve its role in detecting the chronic infection by estimating the associated levels of the specific IgM and IgG.