Single nucleotide polymorphism of IL-18 (rs 1946519) in recurrent aborted Iraqi women and its association with toxoplasmosis

Abstract

The parasite Toxoplasma gondii infection causes toxoplasmosis. Although it is frequently asymptomatic, primary infection in pregnant women can result in serious and debilitating disease in the fetus. Increased knowledge of the significance of parasite genotype in determining infectivity and illness severity is among recent breakthrough. Interleukin 18 (IL-18) is an essential cytokine in immune response regulation and promotes Th1 and Th2 differentiation as well. This study aims to shed light on the risks of elevated levels of IL-18 in aborted women with toxoplasmosis through evaluate the risk or protective function of alleles or genotypes for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IL-18 (rs 1946519), which may be related to the susceptibility to toxoplasmosis. IL-18 levels in patient and control blood samples were determined using ELISA, and the SNP IL-18 (ra 1946519) was subjected to the high resolution method. The results showed that when compared to healthy pregnant women, the IL-18 serum levels of recurrent abortion with toxoplasmosis, recurrent abortion without toxoplasmosis, and healthy non-pregnant women decreased with significant differences. Additionally, a strong association between patients and controls was found in the SNP IL-18 data. Recurrent abortion women with toxoplasmosis and recurrent abortion women without toxoplasmosis with the genotypes AA and AC had significantly lower IL-18 serum levels than healthy pregnant women, according to the distribution of IL-18 serum levels by SNP. In conclusion, the serum level of IL-18 varied by genotype in patients with substantial differences compared to controls, while the SNP of IL-18 has been linked as a risk factor in toxoplasmosis-infected recurrent abortion women.

Keywords

• Toxoplasmosis
• Recurrent abortion
• IL-18 (rs 1946519)
• Single nucleotide polymorphism.