The use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Mycoplasma hominis antibodies in infertile women serum samples

BACKGROUND: Besides Chlamydiae trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma hominis may also cause infertility due to damage of the Fallopian tubes. Therefore serum samples from infertile women were analyzed for antibodies to M. hominis. METHODS: Sera from 304 infertile women were investigated for seropositivity to M. hominis by immunoblotting and a developed ELISA. Women were classified into groups based on the type of infertility: infertile due to lack of passage in Fallopian tubes (TFI, tubal factor infertility), an infertile male partner (MFI, male factor infertility) and unexplained infertility (UFI, unexplained factor infertility). Three M. hominis isolates were used in the immunoblotting analysis and clear differences in patient immunoprofiles were observed between two isolates. For the ELISA we used a mixture of Triton X-114 extracted membrane proteins from those two M. hominis isolates as antigen. RESULTS: Ninety-seven sera (32%) were seropositive to M. hominis when tested by the ELISA. There was a significant correlation between TFI and seropositivity to M. hominis (P=0.0015, OR = 2.21, CI = 1.35-3.61). We compared the seropositivity of 304 patients to M. hominis with the presence of antibodies against two other bacteria Chlamydiae trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium and there was no statistical correlation between those bacteria and M. hominis. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that M. hominis may be an independent predictor of TFI.