High bacterial loads of Ureaplasma may be associated with non-specific cervicitis.
BACKGROUND
Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum are commonly found in the cervix of women with non-chlamydial and non-gonococcal cervicitis or non-specific cervicitis (NSC). However their contribution to the aetiology of NSC is controversial.


METHODS
U. parvum and U. urealyticum were identified and quantified in cervical swabs collected from 155 women with NSC and 312 controls without NSC, using real-time PCR. The relative bacterial quantification was then calculated using the Ureaplasma copy number divided by the number of host cells; this is important for the correction of bias linked to the number of cells harvested in different swabs.


RESULTS
Ureaplasma was detected in 58.7% (91/155) of NSC patients: U. parvum in 30.3%, U. urealyticum in 16.1%, and mixed infection in 12.3%. It was also detected in 54.5% (170/312) of controls: U. parvum in 33.0%, U. urealyticum in 11.5%, and mixed infection in 9.9%. There were no significant differences for U. parvum, U. urealyticum, or mixed infection between the 2 groups (p > 0.05). However, both biovars were present at higher concentrations in NSC patients than in controls (p < 0.05). Using >10 copies/1000 cells as a reference, the positive rate of U. parvum in NSC patients was 16.1%, significantly higher than that in controls at 5.1% (relative risk 3.145, p < 0.05); positive rates of U. urealyticum in NSC patients and controls were 28.4% and 8.7%, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (relative risk 3.131, p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Ureaplasma can adhere to host cells, colonize, internalize, and subsequently produce pathological lesions. A high density of Ureaplasma in the cervix may be associated with the aetiology of NSC.
['Liu|Lu|L|', 'Cao|Guojun|G|', 'Zhao|Zhen|Z|', 'Zhao|Fang|F|', 'Huang|Yanqun|Y|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D058491:Bacterial Load D002584:Cervix Uteri D060085:Coinfection D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008875:Middle Aged D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction D014509:Ureaplasma D016869:Ureaplasma Infections D016990:Ureaplasma urealyticum D002575:Uterine Cervicitis D055815:Young Adult
Ureaplasma parvum Ureaplasma urealyticum NSC real-time PCR relative quantification