title: Detection of Y chromosome DNA as evidence of semen in cervicovaginal secretions of sexually active women.
abstract: The detection of traces of semen in cervicovaginal secretions (CVS) from sexually active women practicing unprotected sex is a prerequisite for the accurate study of cervicovaginal immunity. Two semen markers, the prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) and the Y chromosome, were detected in parallel in CVS obtained by a standardized vaginal washing of consecutive women attending the principal medical center for sexually transmitted diseases of Bangui, Central African Republic. PSA was detected by immunoenzymatic capture assay in the cell-free fraction of CVS, and the Y chromosome was detected by a single PCR assay of DNA extracted by silica from the cell fraction (Y PCR). Fifty (19%) cell-free fractions of the 264 beta-globin-positive CVS samples were positive for PSA, and 100 (38%) cell fractions of the CVS samples were positive for the Y chromosome. All the 50 (19%) PSA-containing CVS samples were also positive for the Y chromosome. Fifty (19%) CVS samples were positive only for the Y chromosome, with no detectable PSA. The remaining 164 (62%) CVS samples were both PSA and Y chromosome negative. These findings demonstrate that CVS from sexually active women may contain cell-associated semen residues unrecognized by conventional immunoenzymatic assays used to detect semen components. The detection of cell-associated male DNA with a highly sensitive and specific procedure such as Y PCR constitutes a method of choice to detect semen traces in female genital secretions.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U430, Hôpital Broussais, Paris, France.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chomont
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grésenguet
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lévy
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hocini
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Becquart
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matta
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tranchot-Diallo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Andreoletti
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Carreno
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Kazatchkine
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bélec
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002582:Cervix Mucus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012661:Semen / Q000737:chemistry*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014621:Vagina / Q000378:metabolism*; D014998:Y Chromosome / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen