Pathogenicity of Ureaplasma urealyticum serotype 3 in genital tract of mice

Objective To study the pathogenicity of ureaplasma urealytieum serotype 3 (UU3) with different concentration in the genital tract of the mice. Methods A total of 156 Kunming mice were divided into 4 groups randomly, including group A, B, C (48 mice in every experimental group) and control group.(12 mice in control group). UU3 at concentration of 1×107eopy/g (group A), 1×106copy/g (group B),1×105copy/g (group C) were inoculated into 48 mice in every experimental group intravaginal]y, in the mean time, culture medium of UU was given into 12 mice in control group. They were neeropsied at 1, 3,7, 14, 21, 35 days of postinoeulatien randomly, which included 8 mice of every experimental group and 2 mice of control group every time, and to detect UU3 expression from cervical secretions by FQ-PCR andobserving the pathogenicity rate in tissues of cervix, endometrium, fallopian tube by light microscope and calculate the morbidity rate. Results (1) The total positive rates of UU3 were 63% (30/48) in group A,50% (24/48) in group B, 17% (8/48) in group C, which showed a significant difference(P 0.05). (3) The total pathogenicity rates of three groups were significant different at 7-35 days, which were 56% (18/32) in group A, 44% (14/32) in group B, 6% (2/32) in group C (P 0.05) . Conclusions The pathogenicity of UU3 varies with different concentration in genital tract of mice. When UU3 concentration is more than 1×106 copy/g, the susceptibility to infection was intensified significantly. Key words: Ureaplasma urealyticum;  Genitalia,female;  Polymerase chain reaction;  Mice