Contribution of IgG avidity and PCR for the early diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women from the North-Eastern region of Algeria

Background: Acute toxoplasmosis in pregnant women presents a high risk of Toxoplasma transmission to the fetus. Early diagnosis is difficult, especially when serological testing for IgG/IgM antibodies fail to differentiate between a recent and a past infection. In this case, we rely on IgG avidity or PCR assays.Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare conventional ELISA and IgG avidity, with PCR using B1 and P30 primers for the early diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women.Methods: Sera were collected from 143 pregnant women and measured by ELISA for anti-Toxoplasma IgG, IgM, IgA and IgG avidity. DNA was extracted from 57 peripheral blood and 14 amniotic fluid samples for PCR amplification.Results: A total of 57 out 143 women were seropositive: 30 (52.6%) were IgG+/IgM- and 27 (43.8%) were IgG+/IgM+; IgA antibodies were positive in 7 (12.2%) cases. IgG avidity was low in 9 women suggesting an acute infection; 3 women presented an intermediate avidity. PCR detected Toxoplasma DNA in 9 women presenting low avidity and was negative for the intermediate avidity cases.Conclusion: PCR combined to avidity IgG performed better than ELISA IgG, IgM and/or IgA assays alone. PCR was useful in the case of intermediate avidity.Keywords: Toxoplasmosis, pregnant women, serology, IgG avidity, PC

Contribution of IgG avidity and PCR for the early diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women from the North-Eastern region of Algeria

Background: Acute toxoplasmosis in pregnant women presents a high risk of Toxoplasma transmission to the fetus. Early diagnosis is difficult, especially when serological testing for IgG/IgM antibodies fail to differentiate between a recent and a past infection. In this case, we rely on IgG avidity or PCR assays. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare conventional ELISA and IgG avidity, with PCR using B1 and P30 primers for the early diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women. Methods: Sera were collected from 143 pregnant women and measured by ELISA for anti-Toxoplasma IgG, IgM, IgA and IgG avidity. DNA was extracted from 57 peripheral blood and 14 amniotic fluid samples for PCR amplification. Results: A total of 57 out 143 women were seropositive: 30 (52.6%) were IgG+/IgM- and 27 (43.8%) were IgG+/IgM+; IgA antibodies were positive in 7 (12.2%) cases. IgG avidity was low in 9 women suggesting an acute infection; 3 women presented an intermediate avidity. PCR detected Toxoplasma DNA in 9 women presenting low avidity and was negative for the intermediate avidity cases. Conclusion: PCR combined to avidity IgG performed better than ELISA IgG, IgM and/or IgA assays alone. PCR was useful in the case of intermediate avidity

Prevalence of papillomaviruses, polyomaviruses, and herpesviruses in triple-negative and inflammatory breast tumors from algeria compared with other types of breast cancer tumors.

The possible role of viruses in breast cancer etiology remains an unresolved question. We hypothesized that if some viruses are involved, it may be in a subgroup of breast cancers only. Epidemiological arguments drove our interest in breast cancer subgroups that are more frequent in Africa, namely inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and triple-negative breast cancer. We tested whether viral prevalence was significantly higher in these subgroups.One hundred fifty-five paraffin-embedded malignant breast tumors were randomly selected at the pathology laboratory of the University Hospital of Annaba (Algeria) to include one third of IBC and two thirds of non-IBC. They were tested for the presence of DNA from 61 viral agents (46 human papillomaviruses, 10 polyomaviruses, and 5 herpesviruses) using type-specific multiplex genotyping assays, which combine multiplex PCR and bead-based Luminex technology.Viral DNA was found in 22 (17.9%) of 123 tumors. The most prevalent viruses were EBV1 and HPV16. IBC tumors carried significantly more viruses (any type) than non-IBC tumors (30% vs. 13%, p<0.04). Similarly, triple-negative tumors displayed higher virus-positivity than non-triple-negative tumors (44% vs. 14%, p<0.009).Our results suggest an association between the presence of viral DNA and aggressive breast cancer phenotypes (IBC, triple-negative). While preliminary, they underline the importance of focusing on subgroups when studying viral etiology in breast cancer. Further studies on viruses in breast cancer should be conducted in much larger samples to confirm these initial findings

Presence/absence of viral DNA according to IBC status.

<p>*Fisher exact chi-square test</p><p>**Presence of DNA of any of the following viruses: BKV, KIV, JCV, MCV, WUV, TSV, HPyV6, HPyV7, HPyV9, SV40, CMV, EBV1, EBV2, HSV1, HSV2 and 46 types of HPV (21 alpha-HPV and 25 beta-HPV)</p><p>Presence/absence of viral DNA according to IBC status.</p

Presence/absence of viral DNA in IBC/non-IBC tumors, stratified by triple-negative status.

<p>*Fisher exact chi-square test</p><p>Presence/absence of viral DNA in IBC/non-IBC tumors, stratified by triple-negative status.</p

Presence/absence of viral DNA according to ER/PR/HER2 status.

<p>*Fisher exact chi-square test</p><p>**Presence of DNA of any of the following viruses: BKV, KIV, JCV, MCV, WUV, TSV, HPyV6, HPyV7, HPyV9, SV40, CMV, EBV1, EBV2, HSV1, HSV2 and 46 types of HPV (21 alpha-HPV and 25 beta-HPV)</p><p>Presence/absence of viral DNA according to ER/PR/HER2 status.</p

Presence/absence of viral DNA in 123 breast cancer tumors.

<p>Presence/absence of viral DNA in 123 breast cancer tumors.</p

In situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr encoding region (EBER) in breast carcinoma shows (A) a few malignant epithelial cells and lymphocytes that express EBER (magnification x10) and (B) one malignant mammary epithelial cell with strong nuclear labeling indicating EBER expression (magnification x40).

<p>(C and D) Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining performed on the same breast carcinoma (magnifications x10 and x40).</p

Profile of the IBC and non-IBC patients.

<p>IBC, inflammatory breast cancer.</p><p>Profile of the IBC and non-IBC patients.</p