Is there a relationship between chlamydia trachomatis-associated tubal pathology and different chlamydial genes in infertile women?

ABSTRACT

Background and Aim: Chlamydia [C.] trachomatis infections in females are a major cause of tubal factor infertility and ectopic pregnancy. However, the precise pathogenesis of C. trachomatis infections remains to be elucidated. Not all women who have undergone a C. trachomatis infection will develop tubal pathology. Variations, like single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs], in immunologically important host genes are assumed to play a role in the course and outcome of a C. trachomatis infection. We studied whether genetic traits [carrying multiple SNPs in different genes] in the bacterial sensing system are associated with an aberrant immune response and subsequently with tubal pathology following a C. trachomatis infection. The genes studied all encode for pattern recognition receptors [PRRs] involved in sensing bacterial components