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Toxoplasma gondii: bystander or cofactor in rheumatoid arthritis

  • ETIO PATHOGENESIS OF AUTOIMMUNITY
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Abstract

Parasitic infections may induce variable immunomodulatory effects and control of autoimmune disease. Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a ubiquitous intracellular protozoan that was recently associated with autoimmunity. This study was undertaken to investigate the seroprevalence and clinical correlation of anti-T. gondii antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We evaluated sera from European patients with RA (n = 125) and SLE (n = 164) for the prevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies (ATXAb), as well as other common infections such as Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr, and Rubella virus. The rates of seropositivity were determined utilizing the LIAISON chemiluminescent immunoassays (DiaSorin, Italy). Our results showed a higher seroprevalence of ATXAb in RA patients, as compared with SLE patients [63 vs. 36 %, respectively (p = 0.01)]. The rates of seropositivity of IgG against other infectious agents were comparable between RA and SLE patients. ATXAb-seropositivity was associated with older age of RA patients, although it did not correlate with RA disease activity and other manifestations of the disease. In conclusion, our data suggest a possible link between exposure to T. gondii infection and RA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, 52621, Tel HaShomer, Israel

    Svetlana Fischer, Nancy Agmon-Levin, Yinon Shapira & Yehuda Shoenfeld

  2. The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    Bat-Sheva Porat Katz & Yehuda Shoenfeld

  3. Arthritis Unit, Rheumatology Department, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Eduard Graell, Jose A. Gómez Puerta & Raimon Sanmartí

  4. Department of Autoimmune Diseases, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Ricard Cervera

  5. Bezhanijska Kosa University Medical Center, Belgrade, Serbia

    Ljudmila Stojanovich

  6. Incumbent of the Laura Schwarz-Kip Chair for Research of Autoimmune Diseases, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Yehuda Shoenfeld

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  1. Svetlana Fischer
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  2. Nancy Agmon-Levin
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  4. Bat-Sheva Porat Katz
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  7. Ljudmila Stojanovich
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  8. Jose A. Gómez Puerta
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  9. Raimon Sanmartí
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  10. Yehuda Shoenfeld
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Correspondence to Yehuda Shoenfeld.

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Svetlana Fischer and Nancy Agmon-Levin have contributed equally to this paper.

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Fischer, S., Agmon-Levin, N., Shapira, Y. et al. Toxoplasma gondii: bystander or cofactor in rheumatoid arthritis. Immunol Res 56, 287–292 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-013-8402-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-013-8402-2

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