Impact of IL ‐6 Promotor AnTn Polymorphism on Blood IL ‐6 Levels and Pregnancy Outcome in Toxoplasma gondii Infected Women

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite causing Toxoplasmosis in humans. Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) is a multifunctional cytokine that controls infection and helps maintain pregnancy. The study investigated the impact of IL‐6 promoter polymorphism on blood IL‐6 levels and pregnancy outcomes in T. gondii ‐infected women. A cross‐sectional study was conducted on 244 women, including 83 infected in Group 1 (Group 1a = 43, Group 1b = 40), 81 uninfected with RPL (Group 2), and 80 controls (Group 3). Blood and placental tissue samples were collected, and screened for IL‐6 levels using ELISA. The DNA was isolated, amplified for T. gondii DNA and the IL‐6 gene by PCR, and the IL‐6 gene was sequenced using the Sanger method. The genotypic ( p < 0.001) and allelic ( p < 0.001) frequencies were significantly variable. Highly prevalent genotypes were A10T11/A10T11 in Group 1a (28%), A9T11/A9T11 in Group 1b (27.5%) and Group 2 (33.3%), while A8T12/A10T10 and A10T10/A10T10 were in Group 3 (20% each). The mean blood IL‐6 levels were significantly variable in all the study groups ( p < 0.0001). The A9T11/A9T11 genotype was significantly linked with high IL‐6 levels, while the A10T10/A10T11, A10T11/A10T11 and A10T10/A10T10 genotypes were associated with low IL‐6 levels. In conclusion IL‐6 AnTn polymorphism is associated with changed IL‐6 levels and RPL in women infected by T. gondii .