The role of non-gonococcal urethritis of bacterial etiology in male infertility
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52556/2587-3873.2025.3(105).03Keywords:
Non-gonococcal urethritis, Ureaplasma spp, male infertility, Mycoplasma sppAbstract
The article presents original data as well as a review of recent literature on the potential impact of male genital tract infections, particularly non-gonococcal urethritis on male infertility. The retrospective study included 200 patients from infertile couples who experienced unexplained infertility. They were separated into two groups: 100 patients with sexually transmitted infections and 100 patients with no infection. Spermograms, inflammatory state, and endocrine indicators were all examined in both groups. In 37 (37%) of the men, a single infection with Ureaplasma urealyticum/parvum was identified, in 24 (24%) with Gardnerella vaginalis, in 32 (32%) with both Ureaplasma urealiticum/parvum and Gardnerella vaginalis, in 9 (9%) with Mycoplasma hominis, and in 8 (8%) with Mycoplasma genitalium. Comparative analysis of the groups revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in ejaculate volume, pH, total sperm count, concentration, total motility, progressive motility, and sperm vitality, with significantly lower values in the study group compared to the control group. Infection with Ureaplasma spp., either alone or in combination with other non-gonococcal infections, has a significant impact on ejaculate volume, pH, total sperm count, concentration, vitality, total motility, and progressive motility of spermatozoa compared to the control group.
References
BEETON, M. L., PAYNE, M. S., & JONES, L. The Role of Ureaplasma spp. in the Development of Nongonococcal Urethritis and Infertility among Men. In: Clinical microbiology reviews. 2019, 32(4), e00137-18. https://doi.org/10.1128/CMR.00137-18
RANE, V.S., FAIRLEY, C.K., WEERAKOON, A., et al. Characteristics of Acute Nongonococcal Urethritis in Men Differ by Sexual Preference. In: Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 2014;52(8):2971-2976. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.00899-14
DEGUCHI, T., YOSHIDA, T., MIYAZAWA, T., et al. Association of Ureaplasma urealyticum (biovar 2) with nongonococcal urethritis. In: Sexually transmitted diseases. 2004;31(3):192-195. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.OLQ.0000114653.26951.71
TOTTEN, P. A., SCHWARTZ, M. A., SJÖSTRÖM, K. E., et al. Association of Mycoplasma genitalium with nongonococcal urethritis in heterosexual men. In: Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2001;183(2):269-276. https://doi.org/10.1086/317942
PARK H, LEE G. Roles of Ureaplasma Species in Idiopathic Chronic Prostatitis: A Case-Control Study. In: The World Journal of Men's Health. 2019;37(3):355-363. https://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.180081
TURAN, D. B., GÜMÜŞ, D., & YÜKSEK, F. K. The Evaluation of Urethritis in Men Caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, and Mycoplasma hominis: Ten-year Retrospective Data from Turkey. In: Bezmiâlem Science. 2022;10(1):62-67. https://doi.org/10.14235/bas.galenos.2021.5467
Khosropour, C. M., et al. Efficacy of standard therapies against Ureaplasma species and persistence among men with non-gonococcal urethritis enrolled in a randomised controlled trial. In: Sexually transmitted infections. 2015;91(5):308-313.
https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2014-051859
WAITES K.B., XIAO L., PARALANOV V., et al. Molecular methods for the detection of Mycoplasma and ureaplasma infections in humans: a paper from the 2011 William Beaumont Hospital Symposium on molecular pathology. In: The Journal of molecular diagnostics: JMD. 2012;14(5):437-450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoldx.2012.06.001 VISCARDI RM. Ureaplasma species: Role in Neonatal Morbidities and Outcomes. In: Archives of disease in childhood Fetal and neonatal edition. 2013;99(1):F87. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2012-303351
DEGUCHI, T., SHIMADA, Y., HORIE, K., et al. Bacterial loads of Ureaplasma parvum contribute to the development of inflammatory responses in the male urethra. In: International Journal of STD and AIDS. 2015;26(14):1035-1039.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0956462414565796
ZHANG, N., WANG, R., LI, X., et al. Are Ureaplasma spp. a cause of nongonococcal urethritis? A systematic review and meta-analysis. In: PloS one. 2014, 9(12), e113771. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0113771
KAMIYA, Y., SHIMADA, Y., ITO, S., et al. Analysis of the quinolone-resistance determining region of the gyrA gene and the analogous region of the parC gene in Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum detected in first-void urine of men with non-gonococcal urethritis. In: Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2013;68(2):480-482. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dks417
LIU, K. S., MAO, X. D., PAN, F., & AN, R. F. Effect and mechanisms of reproductive tract infection on oxidative stress parameters, sperm DNA fragmentation, and semen quality in infertile males. In: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. 2021;19(1):1-12.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-021-00781-6
LE, M. T., NGUYEN, D. N., NGUYEN, H. B., et al. Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma genitalium detection and sperm quality: A cross-sectional study in Vietnam. In: International Journal of Reproductive Biomedicine. 2022;20(3):185. https://doi.org/10.18502/ijrm.v20i3.10710
HUANG C., ZHU HL, XU K.R., et al. Mycoplasma and ureaplasma infection and male infertility: a systematic review and meta-analysis. In: Andrology. 2015;3(5):809-816. https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.12078
AHMADI, K., MOOSAVIAN, M., MARDANEH, J., et al. Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma parvum and Mycoplasma genitalium in Infertile Couples and the Effect on Semen Parameters. In: Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences. 2023;33(1):133-142. https://doi.org/10.4314/ejhs.v33i1.17
ZHOU, Y. H., MA, H. X., SHI, X. X., & LIU, Y. Ureaplasma spp. in male infertility and its relationship with semen quality and seminal plasma components. In: Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection. 2018;51(6):778-783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmii.2016.09.004
FODE, M., FUSCO, F., LIPSHULTZ, L., & WEIDNER, W. Sexually Transmitted Disease and Male Infertility: A Systematic Review. In: European Urology Focus. 2016;2(4):383-393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euf.2016.08.002
ZEIGHAMI, H., PEERAYEH, S. N., YAZDI, R. S., & SO ROURI, R. Prevalence of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum in semen of infertile and healthy men. In: International Journal of STD and AIDS. 2009;20(6):387-390. https://doi.org/10.1258/ijsa.2008.008334
PAIRA, D. A., MOLINA, G., TISSERA, A. D., et al. Results from a large cross-sectional study assessing Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma spp. and Mycoplasma hominis urogenital infections in patients with primary infertility. In: Scientific Reports 2021 11:1. 2021;11(1):1-8.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93318-1
POTTS J.M., SHARMA R., PASQUALOTTO F., et al. Association of ureaplasma urealyticum with abnormal reactive oxygen species levels and absence of leukocytospermia. In: The Journal of Urology. 2000;163(6):1775-1778. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5347(05)67540-4
CUI, D., HAN, G., SHANG, Y., et al, Antisperm antibodies in infertile men and their effect on semen parameters: a systematic review and meta-analysis. In: Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry. 2015;444:29-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2015.01.033
AITKEN, R. J., DREVET, J. R., MOAZAMIAN, A., & GHARAGOZLOO, P. Male Infertility and Oxidative Stress: A Focus on the Underlying Mechanisms. In: Antioxidants 2022, Vol 11, Page 306. 2022;11(2):306. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11020306
ITO, S., TSUCHIYA, T., YASUDA, M., et al. Prevalence of genital mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas in men younger than 40 years-of-age with acute epididymitis. In: International Journal of Urology. 2012;19(3):234-238. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-2042.2011.02917.x
DEHGHAN, A., POURMAND, M. R., SALIMI, V., et al. The effects of Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma hominis, and Ureaplasma urealyticum loads on semen quality: Detection and quantitative analysis. In: Microbial Pathogenesis. 2022;169:105676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpath.2022.105676
XIANCHUN F., JUN F., ZHIJUN D., MINGYUN H. Effects of Ureaplasma urealyticum infection on semen quality and sperm morphology. In: Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2023, 14:1113130. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1113130
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
