Ureaplasma urealyticum serotypes in urinary tract disease

Abstract

Ureaplasma urealyticum cultures from 124 patients with urinary tract disease were serotyped by indirect immunofluorescence, using antisera to serotypes I to VIII. A similar range of serotypes was recovered from first-voided, midstream, and bladder-aspiration (SPA) urine, upper urinary tract samples, and vaginal swabs. Serotype VI was predominant (44/124) among the samples, whereas serotypes V (1/124 samples) and VII (0/124 samples) were uncommon. Twenty of 124 cultures contained more than one serotype, and three cultures were untypeable. Serotypes cultured from bladder urine were also present in vaginal and urethral samples, although these samples often carried additional serotypes. Consecutive SPA samples from the same patient invariably contained the same serotype, whereas some consecutive midstream urine samples showed a loss or gain of serotypes with time. One patient carried the same serotype in SPA urine over a period of 13 months. The pattern of serotypes recovered from the urinary tract was similar irrespective of the sampling site, the site of infection, the clinical diagnosis and renal function of the patient, and the presence or absence of other microorganisms. Colonization above the urethra and association with urinary tract disease appeared to be serotype independent.

Bacteriologic and serologic findings in experimental pyelonephritis caused by Ureaplasma urealyticum

“…In apparent contrast with this ability to resist infection, we found that infected animals harbored ureaplasmas in the kidney for prolonged periods. This is in accord with the findings in patients who have been shown to yield the same ureaplasma serovar from urine aspirated from the bladder for more than 12 months (3).…”

“…isolated from the upper urinary tract of a patient with proven renal disease was used. The strain was derived from a single colony isolate and was characterized as serovar VIII (7) by using a colony immunofluorescence method (3). The isolate was cultivated in ureaplasma broth, and a 16-h culture was stored in 1-ml aliquots at -70°C.…”

Serotypes of Ureaplasma urealyticum isolated from normal pregnant women and patients with pregnancy complications

“…Such a different distribution of U. urealyticum serotype 4 isolates from the cervix and the placenta could not be detected however (Table 2). In a study of urinary tract isolates, Hewish et al (8) also were unable to find a particular serotype more often from the upper urinary tract than from the lower urinary tract.…”

Modified indirect immunofluorescence test for serotyping large numbers of Ureaplasma urealyticum clinical isolates

“…Different serotyping studies have already been performed, however, with conflicting results. Some authors did find an association between disease and the prevalence of a certain serotype (5,9,19), whereas others did not (14). Further large-scale studies, with similar typing methods, are warranted.…”