Abstract | PROBLEM: Pregnancy markedly modifies women's metabolism and immune functions. We hypothesized that pregnancy might alter the immune and metabolic responses to chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnancy. METHOD OF STUDY: A population of 690 pregnant Hispanic women were screened for antibodies to T. gondii and 158 women were positive (23% positivity) with 83% showing high avidity indices. These seropositive women were followed through their pregnancies with four data collection time points and a postpartum collection at two clinics in Tampa, Florida. A T. gondii seronegative group (N = 128) was randomly selected to serve as a control group and measured along pregnancy in the same way. Serum levels of tryptophan, kynurenine, and their ratio, phenylalanine, tyrosine and their ratio, neopterin, and nitrite were measured through pregnancy and the postpartum. A plasma cytokine panel (IFN-γ, TNFα, IL-2, IL-10, IL-12, IL-6, IL-17) was analyzed in parallel. RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Latent T. gondii infection was associated with higher plasma tryptophan levels, and lower inflammatory cytokines across pregnancy, suggesting suppression of the IDO-1 enzyme, and possible T cell exhaustion during pregnancy.
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Authors | Stephanie Prescott, Tina Mutka, Kelley Baumgartel, Ji Youn Yoo, Hailey Morgan, Teodor T Postolache, Andreas Seyfang, Johanna M Gostner, Dietmar Fuchs, Kami Kim, Maureen E Groer |
Journal | American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989)
(Am J Reprod Immunol)
Vol. 90
Issue 3
Pg. e13768
(09 2023)
ISSN: 1600-0897 [Electronic] Denmark |
PMID | 37641377
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
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Copyright | © 2023 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
Chemical References |
- Antibodies
- Cytokines
- Nitrites
- Tryptophan
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Topics |
- Female
- Humans
- Pregnancy
- Antibodies
- Cytokines
- Hispanic or Latino
- Nitrites
- Tryptophan
(metabolism)
- Toxoplasma
- Toxoplasmosis
(immunology, metabolism)
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