Open AccessCytokine concentrations in seminal plasma from subfertile men are not indicative of the presence of Ureaplasma urealyticum or Mycoplasma hominis in the lower genital tract
Author(s) -
Yvonne Pannekoek,
J. W. Trum,
O. P. Bleker,
Fulco van der Veen,
Lodewijk Spanjaard,
J. Dankert
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of medical microbiology/journal of medical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1473-5644
pISSN - 0022-2615
DOI - 10.1099/0022-1317-49-8-697
Subject(s) - ureaplasma urealyticum , mycoplasma hominis , semen , mycoplasmataceae , ureaplasma , interferon gamma , cytokine , biology , andrology , infertility , mycoplasma , sex organ , mollicutes , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , pregnancy , genetics
The inflammatory response to the presence of Ureaplasma urealyticum or Mycoplasma hominis in the lower genital tract of subfertile men without any signs or symptoms of infection was investigated by measuring the concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in seminal plasma. Semen samples were collected from 30 culture-positive subfertile males and 23 culture-negative subfertile males. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays showed that IL-8 was present in relatively high concentrations (0.12-4.8 ng/ml) in all semen samples investigated. In contrast, the other cytokines were only detectable in 72% (IFN-gamma), 44% (IL-6) and 19% (TNF-gamma) of the samples and were present in relatively low concentrations (1-410 pg/ml). Seminal plasma cytokine concentrations were similar in samples from culture-positive and culture-negative males. These data strongly indicate that the presence of U. urealyticum or M. hominis in the lower genital tract of subfertile males reflects a silent colonisation rather than infection.