title: Seminal levels of IL-10, IL-12, and IL-17 in men with asymptomatic chlamydia infection.
abstract: Chlamydia trachomatis, as an obligate intracellular parasite, usually causes asymptomatic genital tract infections in both men and women with several complications. The role of C. trachomatis infection in the secretion of a number of interleukins (ILs) from epithelial cells has been established by in vitro studies performed on various cell lines. The aim of this study was to detect the seminal levels of IL-10, IL-12, and IL-17 in men with asymptomatic chlamydia infection. Our case group study included 50 semen samples being PCR-positive for C. trachomatis from 585 semen samples and the ELISA method was applied for detection of IL-10, IL-12, and IL-17. Our results demonstrated that the semen levels of IL-10 and IL-17 were significantly increased, while IL-12 was decreased in C. trachomatis-infected patients. According to these results, it may be concluded that the increased and decreased semen levels of IL-10 and IL-12, respectively, lead to impaired immune responses against C. trachomatis. Increased semen levels of IL-17 may also be associated with the pathogenesis of C. trachomatis infection.
authors.affiliation: Immunology of Infectious Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hakimi
authors.forename: Mohammad Mehdi
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Akhondi
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chamani
authors.forename: Mohammad Kazemi
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Arababadi
authors.forename: Behzad Nasiri
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Ahmadabadi
authors.forename: Gholamhossein
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hassanshahi
authors.forename: Mahmoud Sheikh
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Fathollahi
mesh_terms: D058345:Asymptomatic Infections; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000032:analysis*; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000032:analysis*; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D060737:Reproductive Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D012661:Semen / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C508609:IL10 protein, human; D020381:Interleukin-17; D016753:Interleukin-10; D018664:Interleukin-12