Histological Effects, Immunological and Physiological Parameters in Women Infected with Toxoplasma gondii in Kirkuk Province

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is a widespread parasitic desease, upon infection, it forms a vacuole inside cells, evading immune system. When Toxoplasma gondii infects the body. T-helper cells, especially TH1, play a crucial role in immune response through interferon-gamma secretion, vitamin C helps reduce oxidative stress in infected individuals. The objective was therefore to determine the extent to which the infected tissue of the placenta is affected by the T. gondii parasite and what is the vital role of interferon gamma and vitamin C activities during infection. Methodology: One hundred women aged between 20-40 years were involved in the current study. These comprised changes in placenta and interferon gamma and vitamin C activities in women who had natural births, abortions with Toxoplasma gondii, and pregnant women without infection. Results: In the present study, the results showed that out of the total examined samples, 50 were infected and 50 were uninfected. Histopathological investigations showed distinct alterations in the placental tissue of infected cases compared to uninfected controls. The affected placentas showed severe histological changes such as tissue necrosis, degeneration, vacuolation, fibrosis, and widespread internal hemorrhage, which were absent in the uninfected tissues. Furthermore, a significant elevation in the cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) concentration was observed in the serum of women who experienced abortion (359.438 pg/ml) compared with both pregnant women without infection (24.447 pg/ml) and women who had normal deliveries (78.561 pg/ml). Conclusions: Placental tissues infected with Toxoplasma gondii exhibited distinct phenotypic abnormalities compared to those from uninfected women. Moreover, the concentration of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) was significantly higher in infected women than in uninfected controls. Although a decrease in vit. C activity was observed in infected women; this reduction was not statistically significant at P ≤ 0.05.