Background: Spontaneous abortion occurs in one of every five pregnancies. Infection with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) parasites among many other reasons is accused as a cause of miscarriage. However, it is not subject to unanimity. Aim and design: The current observational cross sectional study aims to shed more light on the potential role of T. gondii infection and the accompanying placental inflammation and Fas ligand (FasL) as a cause of spontaneous abortion in pregnant women from Benha City, Egypt. Materials and Methods: Sera and placental tissues from 37 women with spontaneous abortion and 25 women with normal delivery were tested for IgG and IgM anti-Toxoplasma antibodies, placental inflammation and FasL expression by ELISA method, histopathological examination of Hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemical examination, respectively. Results: Out of 37 abortion cases investigated, 27 (73%) were found to be anti-T. gondii seropositive. While only 7/25 (28%) was found in the full term control group. All the T. gondii seropositive abortion cases showed placental villitis and intervillositis. While only two (29%) of T. gondii seropositive control cases This significant difference was noticed only in anti-toxoplasma IgG seropositive cases but not in IgM positive. All the T. gondii seropositive abortion cases showed placental villitis and intervillositis. While only two (29%) of T. gondii seropositive control cases. Conclusion: Our study emphasizes the role of chronic toxoplasmosis as a cause of spontaneous abortion and chronic inflammatory lesion and apoptosis mediated by Fas/FasL reaction as possible mechanisms of abortion.
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