Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan, infecting a wide range of warm-blooded vertebrates. It is important for T. gondii to balance the response between cellular and humoral immune system for various aspects of its own survival. The aim of this study was to determine the level of IFN-γ and IL-4 production by murine peritoneal leukocytes stimulated with T. gondii lysate antigens (TLAs), excretory/secretory antigens (ESAs), and a combination of them (TLAs:ESAs). TLAs, ESAs, and TLA + ESA, considered as the experimental groups, were prepared and used to stimulate murine peritoneal leukocytes. The level of the IFN-γ and IL-4 secreted by the stimulated leukocytes was measured. In addition, untreated and phytohemagglutinin-treated groups were considered as negative and positive controls, respectively. As compared to the negative control, the level of IL-4 was lower in each of the experimental groups (P < 0.05); however, no statistically significant difference was observed between the positive control and each of the experimental groups (P > 0.05). Moreover, there was a significant difference for the level of IFN-γ between each of the experimental groups and both negative and positive controls (P < 0.05). The findings showed that the antigens of T. gondii were able to increase the IFN-γ production and decrease the level of IL-4 production. © 2020, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature.