Objective: To identify and analyze a putative pathogenicity island (PAI) Uu146-Uu170 of Ureaplasma urealyticum (Uu) and explore the relationship between PAI and infertility.
Methods: Fifty-one Uu isolates were collected from healthy females, 57 isolates from sterile females with fallopian tube disease, 42 isolates from healthy males and 38 isolates from sterile males. Biovar-typing was performed based on the gene of multiple-banded antigen (MBA). The distribution of PAI was analyzed by PCR. The association of clinical phenotype with biovar type and PAI distribution was calculated by Fisher's exact test.
Results: In female healthy group and female disease group, biovar type 1 account for 68.6% (35/51) and 73.7% (42/57), whereas the positive rate of PAI were 15.7% (8/51) and 12.3% (7/57) in the two groups, both difference were not statistically significant. In male healthy group and male disease group, biovar type 1 account for 71.4% (30/42) and 65.8% (25/38), whereas the positive rate of PAI were 21.4% (9/42) and 18.4% (7/38) in the two groups, both difference were not statistically significant. The positive rate of PAI in biovar type 2 was significantly higher than that in biovar type 1 in the fallopian tube disease and male infertility groups (5/15 vs 2/42, 5/13 vs 2/25, both P < 0.05) whereas no significant difference was found between two biovar types in normal groups (both P > 0.05).
Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence that Uu with presence of PAI is more pathogenic to cause infertility. The Uu strain of biovar type 2 with PAI Uu146-Uu170 may be associated with infertility.