Prevalence of toxoplasma gondii and the level of IL8 in patients with Celiac disease

Introduction: Toxoplasma gondii infection is usually detected by using immunoglobulin IgG and IgM antibodies in different populations. This parasite is implicated in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease (CD). In the present study the prevalence of Toxoplasmosis and the level of IL8 in patients with Celiac disease were evaluated. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study in 2013, 150 patients with CD diagnosis were selected by using questionnaire and the presence of antibodies specific for Toxoplasma gondii (IgG, IgM) was detected by ELISA. On the other hand the level of IL8 was detected using available commercial kit. Results: patients (n=59, 39.9%) were positive for anti-toxoplasma IgG. On the other hand, only 2 of them were positive for IgM antibodies, which did not show statistical correlation to the disease (1.4%, P = 0.65). The mean level of IL8 was 176.38 (SD=191.79) in 150 CD patients, which did not show a statistical significant correlation between the mean level of IL8 and celiac disease (P=0.001). Conclusion: Like other studies showing that intestinal infection can help to develop celiac disease in susceptible individuals, our results also revealed that Toxoplasma gondii infection can increase the risk of developing celiac disease