Martins Livia Mattos, Rangel Alba Lucinia Peixoto, Peixe Ricardo Guerra, Silva-Dos-Santos Priscila Pinto, Lemos Elenice Moreira, Martins-Filho Olindo Assis, Bahia-Oliveira Lilian Maria Garcia
Laboratório de Biologia do Reconhecer, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil.
Laboratório de Biologia do Reconhecer, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil; Faculdade de Medicina de Campos, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil.
J Immunol Methods. 2015 Feb;417:97-106. doi: 10.1016/j.jim.2014.12.012. Epub 2014 Dec 17.
In the present study we evaluated the anti-Toxoplasma gondii immunoglobulin profiles of a group of 118 individuals living in an endemic area. The aim of the study was to select biomarkers to support the ophthalmological diagnosis of retinal/retinochoroidal scars presumably caused by T. gondii infection. Overall anti-T. gondii reactivity of the IgM, IgG, IgA, IgE and IgG subclasses was investigated by flow cytometry-based anti-fixed tachyzoite antibodies (FC-AFTA) in four groups of subjects, referred to as: i) TOXO(L)--seropositive patients with retinal/retinochoroidal scars presumably caused by T. gondii infection; these patients were further subdivided according to morphological aspects of their ocular scar lesions as A, B or C; ii) TOXO(NL)--seropositive patients without ocular scar lesions; iii) NEG(L)--T. gondii seronegative patients presenting retinal lesions; and iv) NEG(NL)--T. gondii seronegative without retinal lesions (negative controls). Our data demonstrated that anti-T. gondii IgG profiles were able to discriminate the mean reactivity of TOXO(L) from all other clinical groups. Analysis of anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin profiles revealed that IgM and IgG were good biomarkers capable of discriminating between individual reactivity in patients with retinal/retinochoroidal scars presumably caused by T. gondii infection [TOXO(L)] from those caused by other clinical conditions. Furthermore, anti-T. gondii IgG1 reactivity was able to discriminate TOXO(L) from all other clinical groups. In conclusion, the pre-selected IgM, IgG and IgG1 anti-T. gondii antibody subclasses were able to segregate both TOXO(L) and the other subgroups, including the scar lesion group types (A, B, C), from other clinical conditions. These results suggest the applicability of this technique in the clinical laboratory to detect putative biomarker for diagnosis of ocular lesions in T. gondii-infected patients. Studies in other areas implementing the methods described in the present study would be of value and enable evaluation of a system for classification of presumed ocular toxoplasmosis scar lesions. This classification would make comparative studies on ocular toxoplasmosis conducted in different regions around the world possible.
在本研究中，我们评估了生活在一个流行地区的118名个体的抗弓形虫免疫球蛋白谱。该研究的目的是选择生物标志物，以支持对可能由弓形虫感染引起的视网膜/视网膜脉络膜瘢痕进行眼科诊断。通过基于流式细胞术的抗固定速殖子抗体（FC-AFTA），在四组受试者中研究了IgM、IgG、IgA、IgE和IgG亚类的总体抗弓形虫反应性，这四组受试者分别为：i）TOXO(L)——可能由弓形虫感染引起视网膜/视网膜脉络膜瘢痕的血清阳性患者；这些患者根据其眼部瘢痕病变的形态学特征进一步细分为A、B或C型；ii）TOXO(NL)——无眼部瘢痕病变的血清阳性患者；iii）NEG(L)——出现视网膜病变的弓形虫血清阴性患者；iv）NEG(NL)——无视网膜病变的弓形虫血清阴性患者（阴性对照）。我们的数据表明，抗弓形虫IgG谱能够区分TOXO(L)与所有其他临床组的平均反应性。对抗弓形虫免疫球蛋白谱的分析表明，IgM和IgG是良好的生物标志物，能够区分可能由弓形虫感染引起的视网膜/视网膜脉络膜瘢痕患者[TOXO(L)]与由其他临床情况引起的患者之间的个体反应性。此外，抗弓形虫IgG1反应性能够区分TOXO(L)与所有其他临床组。总之，预先选择的抗弓形虫IgM、IgG和IgG1抗体亚类能够将TOXO(L)和其他亚组，包括瘢痕病变组类型（A、B、C），与其他临床情况区分开来。这些结果表明该技术在临床实验室中可用于检测弓形虫感染患者眼部病变诊断的假定生物标志物。在其他地区实施本研究中描述的方法进行研究将具有价值，并能够评估一种假定的眼部弓形虫病瘢痕病变分类系统。这种分类将使在世界各地不同地区进行的眼部弓形虫病比较研究成为可能。
