Prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Malaysia

Background: The 7.5 kb cryptic plasmid of Chlamydia trachomatis has been shown to be a virulence factor in animal models, but its significance in humans still remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and potential involvement of the C. trachomatis cryptic plasmid in c...

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Main Authors:	Yeow, T.C., Wong, W.F., Sabet, N.S., Sulaiman, S., Shahhosseini, F., Tan, G.M.Y., Movahed, E., Looi, C.Y., Shankar, E.M., Gupta, R., Arulanandam, B.P., Hassan, J., AbuBakar, S.
Format:	Article
Published:	BioMed Central 2016
Subjects:	R Medicine RG Gynecology and obstetrics
Online Access:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12866-016-0671-1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12866-016-0671-1

id	um-18784
recordtype	eprints
spelling	um-187842018-05-31T04:13:49Z Prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Malaysia Yeow, T.C. Wong, W.F. Sabet, N.S. Sulaiman, S. Shahhosseini, F. Tan, G.M.Y. Movahed, E. Looi, C.Y. Shankar, E.M. Gupta, R. Arulanandam, B.P. Hassan, J. AbuBakar, S. R Medicine RG Gynecology and obstetrics Background: The 7.5 kb cryptic plasmid of Chlamydia trachomatis has been shown to be a virulence factor in animal models, but its significance in humans still remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and potential involvement of the C. trachomatis cryptic plasmid in causing various clinical manifestations; including infertility, reproductive tract disintegrity, menstrual disorder, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) among genital C. trachomatis-infected patients. Results: A total of 180 female patients of child bearing age (mean 30.9 years old, IQR:27-35) with gynecological complications and subfertility issues, who visited Obstetrics and Gynecology clinics in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were recruited for the study. Prevalence of genital chlamydial infection among these patients was alarmingly high at 51.1 % (92/180). Of the 92 chlamydia-infected patients, 93.5 % (86/92) were infected with plasmid-bearing (+) C. trachomatis while the remaining 6.5 % (6/92) were caused by the plasmid-free (-) variant. Our data showed that genital C. trachomatis infection was associated with infertility issues, inflammation in the reproductive tract (mucopurulent cervicitis or endometriosis), irregular menstrual cycles and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). However, no statistical significance was detected among patients with plasmid (+) versus plasmid (-) C. trachomatis infection. Interestingly, plasmid (+) C. trachomatis was detected in all patients with PCOS, and the plasmid copy numbers were significantly higher among PCOS patients, relative to non-PCOS patients. Conclusion: Our findings show a high incidence of C. trachomatis infection among women with infertility or gynecological problems in Malaysia. However, due to the low number of plasmid (-) C. trachomatis cases, a significant role of the plasmid in causing virulence in human requires further investigation of a larger cohort. BioMed Central 2016 Article PeerReviewed http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12866-016-0671-1 Yeow, T.C.; Wong, W.F.; Sabet, N.S.; Sulaiman, S.; Shahhosseini, F.; Tan, G.M.Y.; Movahed, E.; Looi, C.Y.; Shankar, E.M.; Gupta, R.; Arulanandam, B.P.; Hassan, J.; AbuBakar, S. (2016) Prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Malaysia. BMC Microbiology <http://eprints.um.edu.my/view/publication/BMC_Microbiology.html>, 16 (1). p. 45. ISSN 1471-2180 http://eprints.um.edu.my/18784/
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	University Malaya
building	UM Research Repository
collection	Online Access
topic	R Medicine RG Gynecology and obstetrics
spellingShingle	R Medicine RG Gynecology and obstetrics Yeow, T.C. Wong, W.F. Sabet, N.S. Sulaiman, S. Shahhosseini, F. Tan, G.M.Y. Movahed, E. Looi, C.Y. Shankar, E.M. Gupta, R. Arulanandam, B.P. Hassan, J. AbuBakar, S. Prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Malaysia
description	Background: The 7.5 kb cryptic plasmid of Chlamydia trachomatis has been shown to be a virulence factor in animal models, but its significance in humans still remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and potential involvement of the C. trachomatis cryptic plasmid in causing various clinical manifestations; including infertility, reproductive tract disintegrity, menstrual disorder, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) among genital C. trachomatis-infected patients. Results: A total of 180 female patients of child bearing age (mean 30.9 years old, IQR:27-35) with gynecological complications and subfertility issues, who visited Obstetrics and Gynecology clinics in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were recruited for the study. Prevalence of genital chlamydial infection among these patients was alarmingly high at 51.1 % (92/180). Of the 92 chlamydia-infected patients, 93.5 % (86/92) were infected with plasmid-bearing (+) C. trachomatis while the remaining 6.5 % (6/92) were caused by the plasmid-free (-) variant. Our data showed that genital C. trachomatis infection was associated with infertility issues, inflammation in the reproductive tract (mucopurulent cervicitis or endometriosis), irregular menstrual cycles and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). However, no statistical significance was detected among patients with plasmid (+) versus plasmid (-) C. trachomatis infection. Interestingly, plasmid (+) C. trachomatis was detected in all patients with PCOS, and the plasmid copy numbers were significantly higher among PCOS patients, relative to non-PCOS patients. Conclusion: Our findings show a high incidence of C. trachomatis infection among women with infertility or gynecological problems in Malaysia. However, due to the low number of plasmid (-) C. trachomatis cases, a significant role of the plasmid in causing virulence in human requires further investigation of a larger cohort.
format	Article
author	Yeow, T.C. Wong, W.F. Sabet, N.S. Sulaiman, S. Shahhosseini, F. Tan, G.M.Y. Movahed, E. Looi, C.Y. Shankar, E.M. Gupta, R. Arulanandam, B.P. Hassan, J. AbuBakar, S.
author_facet	Yeow, T.C. Wong, W.F. Sabet, N.S. Sulaiman, S. Shahhosseini, F. Tan, G.M.Y. Movahed, E. Looi, C.Y. Shankar, E.M. Gupta, R. Arulanandam, B.P. Hassan, J. AbuBakar, S.
author_sort	Yeow, T.C.
title	Prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Malaysia
title_short	Prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Malaysia
title_full	Prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Malaysia
title_fullStr	Prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed	Prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Malaysia
title_sort	prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in malaysia
publisher	BioMed Central
publishDate	2016
url	http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12866-016-0671-1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12866-016-0671-1
first_indexed	2018-09-06T06:53:44Z
last_indexed	2018-09-06T06:53:44Z
_version_	1610840092587327488

Prevalence of plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women who visited obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Malaysia

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