Authors:
Dutra MS; Béla SR; Peixoto-Rangel AL; Fakiola M; Cruz AG; Gazzinelli A; ... Blackwell JM; et al.
Authors notes:
Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2013;207(1):152-163
Keywords:
NOD2, IL-17, Ocular toxoplasmosis, T lymphocytes, Th17, Toxoplasma gondii
Abstract:
Retinochoroiditis manifests in patients infected with Toxoplasma gondii.
Here, we assessed 30 sibships and 89 parent/case trios of presumed ocular toxoplasmosis (POT) to evaluate associations with polymorphisms in the NOD2 gene.
The family-based association test showed that the tag-SNP rs3135499 is associated with retinochoroiditis.
We then characterized the cellular immune response of 59 cases of POT and 4 cases of active ocular toxoplasmosis (AOT).
We found no differences in levels of interferon γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin 2 produced by T-helper 1 cells when comparing patients with AOT or POT to asymptomatic individuals.
Unexpectedly, we found an increased interleukin 17A (IL-17A) production in patients with POT or OAT.
In patients with POT or AOT, the main cellular source of IL-17A was CD4+CD45RO+T-bet-IFN- γ- T-helper 17 cells.
Altogether, our results suggest that NOD2 influences the production of IL-17A by CD4+ T lymphocytes and might contribute to the development of ocular toxoplasmosis