Toxoplasma infection in patients with myocardial infarction

Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases from Western Romania: A Case-Control Study

(1) Background: Toxoplasma gondii infects approximately one third of the world's human population. The seroepidemiology of T. gondii in cardiovascular patients is poorly discussed in the existing literature. We aimed to evaluate, for the first time, the seroprevalence of T. gondii in cardiovascular patients from Western Romania. (2) Methods: Serologic testing to demonstrate the presence of T. gondii antibodies was conducted in 256 patients with cardiovascular diseases and 261 matched blood donors. (3) Results: The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies was 64.06% in patients with cardiovascular diseases and 52.88% in blood donors and tended to increase with age in both groups. The seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies was significantly higher in cardiovascular male patients (69.94%) compared to male blood donors (55.69%) (p = 0.006). When compared to the control group, a significantly higher prevalence of T. gondii antibodies was found among patients with hypertension (82.35%; p = 0.01) and unstable angina (67.56%; p = 0.02). (4) Conclusions: This study brings new epidemiological information on the prevalence of T. gondii in Romanian cardiovascular patients. T. gondii seroprevalence was significantly higher in patients with hypertension and unstable angina, suggesting that individuals with these diagnoses may be more frequently infected with T. gondii. This study may be a valuable starting point for further research to better evaluate the impact of T. gondii exposure on patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Designing and developing of high-resolution melting technique for separating different types of Toxoplasma gondii by analysis of B1 and ROP8 gene regions

BACKGROUND

Determination of Toxoplasma gondii genotypes plays an important role in the health management and epidemiology of toxoplasmosis. We developed HRM analysis to differentiate genotypes of T. gondii using the B1 and ROP8 genes, through comparing the sensitivity and specificity of both genes and methods used for the detection of T. gondii.

METHODS

A total of 96 DNA samples of muscle tissue of livestock and poultry brain tissue with three standard strains RH (type I), PRU (type II) and VEG (type III) were prepared and analyzed. Three methods of nested PCR, PCR-PCR and nested-qPCR-HRM were used. Specific new primers were designed and synthesized for developing HRM. Thirty positive samples obtained from nested-qPCR-HRM were sequenced (18 B1 and 12 ROP8).

RESULTS

Overall, 87 infected samples were identified using both genes. Through the B1 gene, we could separate type I (T_m = 84.8 °C) from II/III types (T_m = 84.6 °C). Also, the ROP8 gene could separate type II (T_m = 84.5 °C) from I/III types (T_m = 84.12 °C). Highest sensitivity (100%) and specificity (78.72%) were observed by nested-qPCR-HRM assays of the B1 and ROP8 genes than by other methods, respectively. Thus, the B1 gene can be used to most accurately detect T. gondii, while the ROP8 gene was more appropriate for T. gondii genotyping. PCR-sequencing results were consistent with HRM results in most selected samples.

CONCLUSION

HRM analysis is a powerful diagnostic tool for rapid detection and determination of main clonal lineages, and even unusual T. gondii genotypes.