The Influence of ZINC on Humoral and Cellular Immunity in a Toxoplasmosis Patient

Sally Khaleel Baqer1, Asmaa Ameen Ghareeb2, Omar R Ghayyib Al-karkhi3, Ali A Mohammedsaeed4, Hayder Ali Saeed5, Sanarya Kamaran Mahmood6 and Mustafa Khalid Attallah7

1Department of Medical Laboratory Analysis, College of Applied Science, Cihan University-Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
2Department of Radiological Imaging Technology, College of Health Technology, Cihan University-Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
3Therapeutic Nutrition Department, Al-Nimrud Technical Institute, Northern Technical University, Mosul, 41021, Iraq
4Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Lebanese French University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
7Higher Diploma degree in Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Health/ Koya University
1sally.khaleel@cihanuniversity.edu.iq, 2asmaa.ameen@cihanuniversity.edu.iq, 3omarrasheed12-hwj@ntu.edu.iq, 4ali.abdulhamid@lfu.edu.krd, 5hayder.dihm20@epu.edu.iq, 6sanariakamaran93@gmail.com and 7mustafa.med@cihanuniversity.edu.iq
1 https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1110-4608, 2 https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2727-9955, 3 https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3533-0451 and 4 https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3703-6156

Received: 16th Dec, 2025; Revised: 8th Feb 2026; Accepted: 12th Feb, 2026; Available Online: 28th Feb, 2026

ABSTRACT

Toxoplasmosis infection can influence complex immune responses that increase both humoral and cell-mediated immunity. Zinc is a very important material that increases the function of the immune system and has been linked to immune response modulation. In this study, the role of zinc on humoral (IgG, IgM) and cellular (CD4, CD8) immunity was investigated in patients with different serological status for Toxoplasma gondii. 102 samples of serum and EDTA were collected from different labs in Erbil and Duhok cities. Toxoplasmosis was enrolled, and zinc was evaluated with a spectrophotometer. T-cell subset (CD4 and CD8) test determined by flow cytometry. Jamovi was used to perform the statistical analysis such as descriptive statistics, T-test, Pearson's, and linear regression. The results showed that zinc was greater in patients with higher IgG levels, the P-value was less than 0.005. The correlation between zinc and IgG was moderate (r =0.461, R² = 0.212), demonstrating that zinc accounted for 21.2% of the disparity in IgG levels, and the P-value was less than 0.005. Furthermore, there was no relation between zinc and IgM; the P-value was 0.930, the CD4 p-value was 0.016, and the CD8 p-value was 0.002. Zinc plays a significant role in increasing the latent IgG levels, which means it increases memory against Toxoplasma gondii. These findings are important in demonstrating the role of increasing humoral immunity against the disease by zinc.

Keywords: Toxoplasma, Zinc, immune system, Humeral, Cellular, IgG, IgM

How to cite this article: Baqer SK, Ghareeb AA, Alkarkhi ORG, Mohammedsaeed AA, Saeed HA, Mahmood SK, Attallah MK, The Influence of ZINC on Humoral and Cellular Immunity in a Toxoplasmosis Patient. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(5s): 59-64. DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.5s.8