Evaluation of gene expression levels for cytokines in ocular toxoplasmosis

This study evaluated levels for mRNA expression of 7 cytokines in ocular toxoplasmosis. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with ocular toxoplasmosis (OT Group, n=23) and chronic toxoplasmosis individuals (CHR Group, n=9) were isolated and stimulated in vitro with T. gondii antigen. Negative controls (NC) were constituted of 7 PBMC samples from individuals seronegative for toxoplasmosis. mRNA expression for cytokines was determined by qPCR. Results showed a significant increase in mRNA levels from antigen stimulated PBMCs derived from OT Group for expressing IL-6 (at P<.005 and P<.0005 for CHR and NC groups, respectively), IL-10 (at P<.0005 and P<.005 for CHR and NC groups, respectively) and TGF- (at P<.005) for NC group. mRNA levels for TNF- and IL-12 were also upregulated in patients with OT compared to CHR and NC individuals, although without statistical significance. Additionally, mRNA levels for IL-27 and IFN- in PBMC of patients with OT were upregulated in comparison with NC individuals. Differences between OT and NC groups were statistically significant at P<.05 and P<.0005, respectively.