Quantification of Ureaplasma urealyticum DNA in the amniotic fluid from patients in PTL and pPROM and its relation to inflammatory cytokine levels.

Objective. To study the effect of the amniotic fluid quantity of Ureaplasma urealyticum DNA on inflammatory response levels in women with preterm labor (PTL) and preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (pPROM). Design. A prospective multi-center follow up study. Setting. Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Goteborg, Sweden and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland. Sample. Eleven U. urealyticum positive samples obtained after transabdominal amniocenteses in 197 women presenting with PTL and pPROM. Methods. The U. urealyticum positive samples were analyzed with real-time polymerase chain reaction, using the Lightcycler instrument with primers specific for U. urealyticum 16 S rDNA. The amniotic fluid samples were analyzed for tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and IL-10 with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Main outcome measures. Correlation between U. urealyticum DNA concentrations in the amniotic fluid and inflammatory cytokine levels. Results. The concentrations of U. urealyticum ...