Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is one of the most prevalent parasitic infections in humans. At its primary stages, this infection is usually asymptomatic in a pregnant woman; however, it has the potential to cause significant harm to the fetus, including miscarriage. The current study was investigated the utility of the PCR to confirm the etiology of the abortion. Therefore, a prospective study was conducted on 94 aborted women hospitalized at Al-Diwaniyah Maternity and Pediatric Teaching Hospital, Iraq. To detect toxoplasmosis, a new internal primer for the nested PCR protocol was introduced. Of the 94 aborted women, 30 samples (31.9%) were positive by the nPCR and qPCR using the G529 repeat gene and B1 gene primers, respectively. The findings indicated that three women carried the parasite in their placentas, and at the same time, they did not carry antibodies in their blood. In conclusion, women should be aware of the risk of toxoplasmosis and the importance of preventing measures. In addition, PCR should be performed in the case of abortion to enhance sensitivity even if the serological test result is negative.

Background: Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) causes toxoplasmosis, a dangerous and prevalent disease. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the best-studied pattern recognition receptors in mammals. Objective: The current study was conducted at Al-Diwaniya Maternity and Children Teaching Hospital, Diwaniyah city, Iraq, from December 2020 to August 2021. Methods: Blood samples and placenta tissue pieces were collected prospectively from 30 patients newly diagnosed with toxoplasmosis and 64 healthy controls. Women in both groups underwent a spontaneous abortion. A human Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4) ELISA kit was used to measure TLR4 levels and blood DNA extraction. ARMS-PCR was adopted to analyze the polymorphism for TLR4 Asp299Gly, and SAG3 marker was used to analyze the genotype of Toxoplasma strains. Results:The frequency distribution of the A allele and G allele was statistically non-significant between the patients and the control group. The polymorphism analysis of the Asp299Gly SNP in the TLR4 gene showed abortion had no significant association with toxoplasma infection (P> 0.05). Genotype II was more prevalent in aborted Iraqi women (22/30) than in control. The obtained result revealed that the concentration of TLR4 in serum women infected with type I Toxoplasma was significantly higher (P< 0.05) in the AA genotype of TLR4 Asp299Gly ( mean 1328 pg/ml, SD: 266.1pg/ml ), compared to AG genotype (mean; 923.6 pg/ml, SD: 27.2 pg/ml). Discussion: These findings highlighted the significance of TLR molecules in Toxoplasma gondii infection and the need for close collaboration between practitioners and to lessen the illness burden of toxoplasmosis.