The Effect of Infection With Genital Mycoplasma hominis and the Presence of Antisperm Antibodies in Iranian Women With Unexplained Infertility

Mycoplasma hominis (M. hominis) infection is considered as one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. Antibodies against sperm can influence fertilization through different mechanisms. These two factors can affect women’s fertility status. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between infection with genital M. hominis and the presence of antisperm antibodies (ASA). Materials and Methods: Case-control study was conducted using 50 patients with primary or secondary infertility as a case group and 50 healthy women as a control group in Sarem’s women hospital. DNA was extracted from urine samples and the presence of M. hominis (past infection) was determined by PCR. In addition, the presence of antibody against M. hominis in the serum (current infection) was assessed by ELISA. On the other hand, the presence of ASA was further evaluated by IgG-MAR test in the serum. Results: Our results clearly demonstrated that the prevalence of M. hominis (evaluated by PCR) in the two groups was not significantly different. Furthermore, the presence of antibodies against M. hominis and sperm was not significantly different as compared between fertile and infertile women. Conclusion: The current study demonstrated that there is no distinct association between current or past infection with M. hominis and the levels of antisperm antibody in women with unexplained infertility. This result can be due to limitation in antiserum used in IgG-MAR test to recognize all ASA in serum of infertile women.