Abstract
Little is known about genital mucosal immune response to chlamydial infection in women with or without sequelae (Chlamydia positive women with or without fertility disorders as infertility and multiple spontaneous abortions). Cervical lymphocytes were stimulated with chlamydial EBs and cytokine secretion was determined by ELISA, RT-PCR and ELISPOT assays. Stimulated cervical cells from women with fertility disorders (FD) secrete significantly (P < 0.05) higher levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 and cells from fertile women secrete significantly higher levels of IL-12 and IFN-γ compared to other groups. RT-PCR analysis showed similar results for IFN-γ and IL-12. For IL-10 and IL-4, mRNA expression levels were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in cells obtained from women with FD compared to other groups. Results for ELISPOT assay were similar as those of RT-PCR. The results suggest that cytokine secretion profile of cervical cells may decide whether infection does not hamper fertility or will develop fertility disorder.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 347-354 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Clinical Immunology |
| Volume | 130 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We are thankful to Mrs. Madhu Badhwar, Mrs. Asha Rani and Mrs. Rosamma Thomas, for providing technical assistance during the study. This study was supported by an Indo-US grant (BT/IN/USCRHR/AM/2002) from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. University Grants Commission is acknowledged for providing assistance to Tanvi Agrawal, Rishein Gupta and AR Bhegraj as fellowship.
Keywords
- Chlamydia trachomatis
- Cytokines
- Fertility disorders
- Mucosal immune response
- Pathology