Expression of Interleukin-33 Gene in Hemodialysis Patients with Chronic Toxoplasmosis in Baghdad, Iraq

Toxoplasmosis is a protozoan parasite with high distribution, leading to different abnormalities in hosts. The present study aimed to determine the distribution of toxoplasmosis in hemodialysis patients and the expression of the Interleukin (IL)-33 gene in chronic Toxoplasmosis. The present study evaluated 120 subjects, including 60 patients who were undergoing dialysis and 60 healthy samples as the control group, from the 1st February to 1st November 2021. Anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG was detected by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique and the real-time polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) was used to perform IL-33. The results demonstrated that the highest anti-toxoplasmosis IgG antibody rate was observed in the age group 51-70 years who were undergoing dialysis, in comparison with that in the control group (P<0.05). The male patients who had anti-toxoplasmosis IgG antibodies outnumbered the healthy people (P<0.05), while the female patients did not significantly differ from the healthy group. Chronic toxoplasmosis showed a higher number according to residency (the urban and rural patients), compared to healthy people. The frequency of dialysis times per week in chronic Toxoplasmosis patients was significantly higher among the infected patients. The findings were displayed to be positive in dialysis at 2 weeks (P<0.05). The expression of the IL-33 gene was investigated in patients who were undergoing hemodialysis and in healthy controls by using real-time PCR. The findings demonstrated that there was a high Ct value for patients and controls with a high Ct value of templates, preoperational to the gene concentration. The high prevalence of toxoplasmosis in dialysis patients and the role of IL-33 in cellular immunity in these patients highlight the need to investigate the mechanisms limiting infection with intracellular protozoa.