April 2011
Volume 52, Issue 14
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   April 2011
An Association between Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor (KIR) Genes and Toxoplasmic Retinochoroiditis
David C. Reed; Gary N. Holland; Patrick A. Coady; Ralph D. Levinson; Michael E. Zegans; Tiago E. Arantes; Jose G. Montoya; Ying Qian; Raj Rajalingam; North American Ocular Toxoplasmosis Research Group
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • David C. Reed
    Jules Stein Eye Institute,
    David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
  • Gary N. Holland
    Jules Stein Eye Institute,
    David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
  • Patrick A. Coady
    Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, New Hampshire
  • Ralph D. Levinson
    Jules Stein Eye Institute,
    David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
  • Michael E. Zegans
    Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, New Hampshire
  • Tiago E. Arantes
    Jules Stein Eye Institute,
    David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
  • Jose G. Montoya
    Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
  • Ying Qian
    Francis I Proctor Foundation, UC San Francisco, San Francisco, California
  • Raj Rajalingam
    Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,
    David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
  • North American Ocular Toxoplasmosis Research Group
    David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  David C. Reed, None; Gary N. Holland, None; Patrick A. Coady, None; Ralph D. Levinson, None; Michael E. Zegans, None; Tiago E. Arantes, None; Jose G. Montoya, None; Ying Qian, None; Raj Rajalingam, None
  • Footnotes
    Support  Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science April 2011, Vol.52, 2396. doi:
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      David C. Reed, Gary N. Holland, Patrick A. Coady, Ralph D. Levinson, Michael E. Zegans, Tiago E. Arantes, Jose G. Montoya, Ying Qian, Raj Rajalingam, North American Ocular Toxoplasmosis Research Group; An Association between Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor (KIR) Genes and Toxoplasmic Retinochoroiditis. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2011;52(14):2396.

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Abstract

Purpose: : Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes control the effector function of natural killer cells, a subset of lymphocytes that are involved in the early immune response against Toxoplasma gondii infection. KIR genes, which are polymorphic and polygenic, are classified into activating and inhibitory types. We sought relationships between toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis and KIR genes.

Methods: : We characterized the presence or absence of 14 distinct KIR genes and 2 pseudogenes of 33 immunocompetent Hispanic and white Caucasian adults with serologic evidence of T. gondii infection. All subjects underwent ophthalmic examination to determine the presence of toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis. KIR genotypes were compared to those of 250 healthy Caucasian controls.

Results: : Ocular involvement was present in 26 individuals (78.8%). The frequency of activating gene KIR2DS3 was increased in patients with ocular involvement (14 [53.8%] of 26 individuals) when compared to healthy controls (55 [28.2%] of 195 controls, p=0.012). There was also a weak association of the activating gene cluster KIR2DS2-2DL2-2DS3-2DL5 when patients with ocular involvement (11 [42.3%] of 26 individuals) were compared to healthy controls (47 [24.1%] of 250 controls, p=0.058). Similar associations were seen among T. gondii-infected individuals when those with ocular involvement were compared to those without ocular involvement, although numbers were small and statistical significance was not confirmed. KIR2DS3 was more common in those with ocular involvement (14 [53.8%] of 26 individuals) than in those without ocular involvement (1 [14.3%] of 7, p=0.095). The gene cluster KIR2DS2-2DL2-2DS3-2DL5 was more common in those with ocular involvement (11 [42.3%] of 26 individuals) than in those without ocular involvement (1 [14.3%] of 7 individuals, p=0.22).

Conclusions: : Our data suggest the possibility that development of clinically apparent toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis may be related, in part, to a heightened inflammatory reaction mediated by activating KIR gene products.

Keywords: toxoplasmosis • genetics • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment 
© 2011, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2024 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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