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Vaginal leukocyte characteristics in urogenital trichomoniasis
Author(s) -
BUCHVALD DUŜAN,
DEMEŜ PAVOL,
GOMBOŜOVÁ ANNA,
MRÁZ PETER,
VALENT MICHAL,
ŜTEFANOVIĈ JÁN
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
apmis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0903-4641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1992.tb00889.x
Subject(s) - trichomoniasis , exudate , candida albicans , genitourinary system , phagocytosis , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , vagina , immunology , respiratory burst , pathogenesis , medicine , pathology , anatomy
Morphological and functional characteristics of vaginal exudate leukocytes were examined in 47 patients with urogenital trichomoniasis. Electron microscopic morphology, viability, phagocytosis of Candida albicans blastospores and ability to undergo respiratory burst in the iodonitrotetrazolium reductase test were evaluated in these cells. Vaginal inflammatory leukocytes were almost exclusively polymorphonuclear neutrophils, and their concentration was positively correlated (r = 0.58; p<0.001) with the number of trichomonads in the exudate. Median leukocyte viability reached 39% and both phagocytic and tetrazolium reductase activities of these cells were significantly reduced in comparison with those of circulating polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Patients with a clinical picture of severe mucosal inflammation had significantly higher vaginal exudate leukocyte concentrations and viability than those without inflammatory signs. The possible role of vaginal leukocytes in the pathogenesis of urogenital trichomoniasis is discussed.