Association of Ureaplasma urealyticum infection with Varicocele-related infertility

Abstract

Background: The role of seminal colonization of Ureaplasma urealyticum in varicocele-related infertility was investigated. Methodology: Semen samples were obtained from infertile patients with or without varicocele and healthy controls and were subjected to routine semen analysis and PCR. DNA was extracted by Cadieux method and analyzed by PCR protocol with species-specific primers for U. urealyticum (urease gene). Results: U. urealyticum was detected by PCR in 23 of 146 (15.75%) semen specimens from infertile patients and in 3 of 100 (3%) healthy men (P<0.001). Infertile patients with varicocele had higher U. urealyticum colonization [17/81(20.98%)] than those without varicocele [6/65(9.23%), P=0.086] or healthy controls [3/100 (3%), P<0.001].The percentage of sperm cells with motility, volume of semen fluid, concentration of sperm cells, and sperm cell with normal morphology were significantly decreased in infertile men (P<0.001). In the group of varicocele patients with PCR positive for U. urealyticum the volume, count and morphology of semen samples were lower than those in the varicocele patients with PCR negative results, but the differences were not significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Although the colonization of U. urealyticum does not affect the semen quality, the high prevalence of this microorganism in varicocele patients may be an additional negative factor affecting varicocele status and worsening reproductive potential.

The semen microbiome and its impact on sperm function and male fertility: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Thirty‐five studies used PCR or culture to isolate specific bacteria, namely Chlamydia trachomatis , Ureaplasma spp. and Mycoplasma spp 9,19,51,52,55,60‐89 . The PCR technique identified C trachomatis in 15 studies with reported prevalence of between 0.3% and 43.3% in infertile men, which is in contrast to the culture technique where this species was not identified in any of the studies (0/20).…”

“…A number of different species of bacteria were assessed to investigate their impact on semen parameters. Thirteen studies investigated the impact of Ureaplasma urealyticum 9,56,63‐65,68,72,75‐78,83,86 and meta‐analyses found that there was a significant deterioration in mean sperm concentration (difference in means: −13.851, 95% CI: −20.938 to −6.763, P = .00, I 2 : 93%; Figure 13), and morphology (difference in means: −2.823, 95% CI: −3.546 to −2.10, P = .00, I 2 : 97%; Figure 14), but no differences in motility (difference in means: 1.471, 95% CI: −5.911 to 8.853, P = .696; Figure 15).…”

“…Eleven studies compared the presence of Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) between fertile and infertile men, and nine of these studies reported that the presence of this species was significantly higher in infertile men (P < .05). 9,63,65,66,68,75,77,78,[86][87][88] These studies used a variety of diagnostic techniques, with five studies employing culture of semen, four studies using PCR, and the remaining two studies using both culture and PCR.…”

Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis in infertile Bulgarian men with multiplex real‐time polymerase chain reaction

“…We found them in infertile men (19.2%) in comparison with the healthy men (11%). In the literature, the prevalence of this infection among infertile men varies – 12%; 15.75%; 24.4% . In most of the cases, the prevalence of ureaplasma is higher in the group of infertile men in comparison with the healthy group studied.…”

“…We found them in infertile men (19.2%) in comparison with the healthy men (11%). In the literature, the prevalence of this infection among infertile men varies -12%; 15.75%; 24.4% (6)(7)(8).…”