Influence of Maternal Toxoplasmosis on the Second-Trimester Aneuploidy Screening Test

Abstract

Objective: With apoptosis being critical for the development and homeostasis of placental tissues, it is possible to hypothesize that accelerated trophoblastic apoptosis during pregnancy may result in a partial loss of trophoblastic activity or trophoblastic cell mass, and ultimately may alter the second-trimester screening test parameters. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the influence of maternal toxoplasmosis on second-trimester aneuploidy screening tests.

Study Design: This retrospective study was conducted with 552 pregnant women admitted to our University Hospital. The demographic data such as maternal age and weight; and the main parameters of second-trimester aneuploidy screening test including maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein, unconjugated estriol (uE3) and human chorionic gonadotropin were analyzed with the comparison of their Toxoplasma immunoglobulin serology results.

Results: The mean age of the pregnant women was 27.6 (17.0 - 43.0) years, and the mean maternal weight was estimated at 65.0 (40.0 - 120.0) kg. The pregnant women with positive Toxoplasma IgG antibody had a higher mean maternal age than those with negative Toxoplasma IgG antibody (p< 0.0001). No significant difference for the concentrations and MoM values of second-trimester screening test parameters in women with Toxoplasma IgM and IgG antibodies was observed (p> 0.05, for all).

Conclusion: Although IgG-seropositivity of toxoplasmosis may lead to an accelerated trophoblastic apoptosis during pregnancy, there is no significant influence on the second-trimester screening test results. There was no data regarding the unaffected population whom used for calculation of MoM, if they