Chlamydia trachomatis urogenital infection does not appear to deteriorate seminal quality but alters leukocyte subpopulations in semen in young patients

PAIRA, DANIELA A.; MOLINA, ROSA I.; TISSERA, ANDREA D.; OLIVERA, CAROLINA; OLMEDO, JOSE J.; MOTRICH, RUBEN D.

Washington

Congreso; American Society of Andrology (ASA) Annual Meeting 2021; 2021

Introduction and objectiveChlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the third most common sexually transmitted infection, after herpes simplex virus (HSV) and human papilloma virus (HPV). In fact, CT is the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial infection worldwide. CT urogenital infection and associated pathology has been widely described in females. Conversely, the study of CT infection of the male urogenital tract (MUT) has been neglected for decades. Besides, if CT infection of the MUT is detrimental to sperm quality and male fertility is controversial. Herein, we analyzed the prevalence of CT infection, and of the co-infection with other common uropathogens, and their impact on semen quality and seminal inflammatory biomarkers in patients attending to a Urology clinic from Argentina.MethodsA total of 95 patients with LUTS attending a Urology clinic from central Argentina and 35 healthy control individuals were enrolled. Semen samples were collected by masturbation and standard semen analysis performed according to the WHO manual. Ureaplasma urealyticum, Trichomona vaginalis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma hominis, Treponema pallidum, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, CT, HSV type 1 or 2, and HPV infections were assessed by PCR. Semen levels of ROS, inflammatory cytokines and leukocyte subpopulations were analyzed by flow cytometry. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA.ResultsCT infection was detected in 27 out of 95 patients revealing a striking prevalence of 28.2%. Other uropathogens showed to be much less prevalent. Either CT mono-infection (74,1%, 20/27) or co-infection with other uropathogens (35%, 7/20) did not associate to significant alterations in semen quality (p˃0.05). When classifying patients according to biomarkers of inflammation, only 7 out of 20 CT-infected patients showed increased levels of inflammatory cytokines in semen. Moreover, these patients revealed significantly increased leukocytospermia (p<0.05). Strikingly, CT-infection was associated to significantly reduced levels of ROS in seminal plasma (p<0.05).ConclusionOur results revealed a significant prevalence of CT-infection in men with LUTS from our region. Moreover, male urogenital CT infection associates to increased inflammatory markers in only 1/3 of infected patients. Altogether, our results suggest that CT-infection of the MUT does not induce significant alterations in semen quality, which highlights the fact that males may act as a reservoir of infection transmission.