Increased levels of IL-17A in serum and amniotic fluid of pregnant women with acute toxoplasmosis

•IL-17A was increased in the serum of pregnant women in the acute toxoplasmosis.•IL-10 was increased in the serum of pregnant women did not have the infection by Toxoplasma gondii.•The levels of IFNɣ, IL-17A and IL-10 found in the serum and amniotic fluid of pregnant women in acute toxoplasmosis were similar.•T. gondii DNA was not amplified in any of the samples of amniotic fluid by the nested-PCR reaction. This study detected and compared the levels of Il-17A, IFN-gamma and IL-10 in the amniotic fluid (AF) and serum of pregnant women with acute toxoplasmosis in southern Brazil. It also compared the serum levels of these mediators in pregnant women with acute or chronic toxoplasmosis and with uninfected women. The serological investigations of anti-T. gondii IgM and IgG from the 60 pregnant women were determined by chemiluminescence microparticle immunoassay (CMIA). Twenty patients were uninfected, twenty were in the chronic phase and twenty were in the acute phase of toxoplasmosis. The 20 pregnant women in acute phase all agreed with amniocentesis. Serum and AF cytokines were evaluated by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The analyzed cytokines showed no significant difference in blood versus amniotic fluid levels of pregnant women in the acute toxoplasmosis. Furthermore, we observed that serum IL-17A was significantly higher in pregnant women in the acute phase of infection compared to pregnant women with chronic toxoplasmosis and seronegative pregnant women. T. gondii DNA was not amplified in any of the samples of amniotic fluid by the nested-PCR reaction. Serum IL-10 levels were also higher in negative pregnant women than in infected pregnant women. Our findings indicate the activation of an inflammatory response to infection by T. gondii and suggest that increased production of IL-17A may be a protective factor against infection of the fetus.