Molecular Detecion of Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis and Listeria monocytogenes in Women with Recurrent Miscarriage using PCR method
Molecular Detecion of Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis and Listeria monocytogenes in Women with Recurrent Miscarriage using PCR method
Maryam Tohidpour,1,*Mohammad Hassan Shahhosseiny,2Sedigheh Mehrabian,3AboTaleb Saremi ,4
1. Department of Microbiology, College of Biological Sciences, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran 2. Department of Microbiology, College of Basic Sciences, Shahr- e-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran 3. Department of Microbiology, College of Biological Sciences, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran 4. MD, Gynecologist, Subspecialty of Infertility, IVF and Laparoscopic surgery, Sarem Fertility and Infertility Research Center (SAFIR), Sarem Cell Research Center(SCRC), Sarem Women’s Hospital , Tehran/ Iran
Introduction: In recent years, recurrent abortion, as a major medical problem, has attracted the attention of many researchers and it is considered as a big challenge with serious psychological problems and stressful experiences for couples. Recurrent abortion is a complex multifactorial phenomenon triggered by a variety of factors, including genetic, hormonal, and immunological problems, as well as uterus structural abnormalities, infections during pregnancy, etc. Among the mentioned predisposing factors, infections, due to negative impacts on reproductive function, can lead to failure in fertilization, so they should be timely screened, diagnosed, and treated with antibiotics. Due to the importance of this issue, current study aimed to detect Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, and Listeria monocytogenes in women with recurrent miscarriage using PCR method.
Methods: In this study, a sterile swab was used for sampling from the endocervix. The participants included 100 women with a history of recurrent miscarriage referred to infertility & prenatal clinic of the Sarem Women’s Hospital. The samples were used for performing vaginal culture and PCR that was conducted after DNA extraction by the phenol-chloroform method to identify C. trachomatis, U. urealyticum, M. hominis, and L. monocytogenes.
Results: Out of 100 samples, 14% were positive for C. trachomatis, 11% were positive for U. urealyticum, 4% were positive for M. hominis, 3% were positive for L. monocytogenes, and 2% were positive for co-infection. In the vaginal culture test, all the samples showed a WBC count above the normal range and the presence of bacteria. Based on the results of PCR test, a relatively high prevalence was observed in relation to C. trachomatis, U.urealyticum, M. hominis and L.monocytogenes in women with a history of 3 miscarriages compared to women with a history of more than 3 miscarriages. However, the prevalence of this group of bacteria had no significant association with age and number of abortions in women with recurrent miscarriages (P>0.05).
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it is recommended to screen pregnant women, especially those undergoing assisted reproductive techniques (ART), for these bacteria to prevent infection-induced recurrent miscarriages. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), as a highly sensitive and accurate molecular method, is suggested to be incorporated in the country’s pregnancy health care programs to identify these bacteria and maintain pregnant women’s health. Finally, timely antibiotic therapy can be effective in reducing the incidence of recurrent abortions among women.