RESEARCH ARTICLE
First Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis 'Swedish' Variant (nvCT) in a Russian Couple with Infertility
Valentina Feodorova1, *, Edgar Sultanakhmedov2, Yury Saltykov1, Sergey Zaitsev1, Sergey Utz2, Michael Corbel3, Charlotte Gaydos4, Thomas Quinn4, 5, Vladimir Motin6, *
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2018Volume: 12
First Page: 343
Last Page: 352
Publisher ID: TOMICROJ-12-343
DOI: 10.2174/1874285801812010343
Article History:
Received Date: 14/7/2018Revision Received Date: 23/9/2018
Acceptance Date: 27/9/2018
Electronic publication date: 18/10/2018
Collection year: 2018
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background:
Chronic asymptomatic chlamydial genital infection caused by the wild-type of Chlamydia trachomatis (wtCT) is the most common bacterial infection causing human infertility. The novel ‘Swedish’ variant of С.trachomatis (nvCT) which contains a 377 bp deletion in a region that is specifically targeted in some nucleic acid amplification tests may impede diagnosis.
Objective:
The study aimed to investigate whether nvCT may be a possible cause of infertility in a couple undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Method:
Clinical specimens from both genital (urethra and cervix) and extra-genital sites (pharynx, conjunctive, blood) of a couple who experienced multiple unsuccessful attempts at pregnancy by natural fertilization and IVF procedures were analyzed before and after antibiotic therapy. Both partners had neither somatic nor endocrinal abnormality nor any clinically apparent genital manifestations of Chlamydia or other STIs.
Results:
Before antibiotic therapy all the samples of the Female Partner (FP) contained DNA of only the nvCT. After antibiotic therapy, additionally, DNA of wtCT of genovars E and D was detected in specimens from her conjunctiva and oropharynx. All samples of the Male Partner (MP) revealed co-infection of nvCT and wtCT. Identical SNP within the variable region 4 (VD4) of the ompA gene confirmed the identity of the wtCT strains found in both partners. The FP had a positive anti-chlamydial IgG titer. The sperm characteristics of the MP, motility (immotile spermatozoa was 51.1% versus 21.6%) and vitality (46% versus 68%) declined progressively, and the MP anti-chlamydial IgG titer was negative.
Conclusion:
Infertility in this couple may have been caused by chronic asymptomatic and persistent nvCT-associated infection that was complicated by re-infection later with wtCT. This study illustrates the importance of including detection methods for nvCT strains in the investigation of infertility cases.
