Granulomatous villitis formed by inflammatory cells with maternal origin: A rare manifestation type of placental toxoplasmosis

Abstract

We present a case of placental toxoplasmosis with granulomatous villitis. The patient was a 26-year-old gravida I female with the findings of intrauterine death at 16th week of gestation. The pregnancy was terminated. Pathological examination revealed an autolysed fetus and a placenta with necrotizing granulomas within the villous stroma. Encysted Toxoplasma gondii was rarely observed within the granulomas and serologic examination of the mother confirmed acute toxoplasmosis. A fluorocein in situ hybridization examination, using sex chromosome probes, revealed that the villous granulomas were formed by inflammatory cells, originated from the maternal immune system. In conclusion, T gondii should be taken into consideration as a rare cause of placental gramilomatous inflammation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of granulomatous villitis due to toxoplasmosis, in which formation by maternal inflammatory cells has been demonstrated.