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Seminal Levels of IL-10, IL-12, and IL-17 in Men with Asymptomatic Chlamydia Infection

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Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis, as an obligate intracellular parasite, usually causes asymptomatic genital tract infections in both men and women with several complications. The role of C. trachomatis infection in the secretion of a number of interleukins (ILs) from epithelial cells has been established by in vitro studies performed on various cell lines. The aim of this study was to detect the seminal levels of IL-10, IL-12, and IL-17 in men with asymptomatic chlamydia infection. Our case group study included 50 semen samples being PCR-positive for C. trachomatis from 585 semen samples and the ELISA method was applied for detection of IL-10, IL-12, and IL-17. Our results demonstrated that the semen levels of IL-10 and IL-17 were significantly increased, while IL-12 was decreased in C. trachomatis-infected patients. According to these results, it may be concluded that the increased and decreased semen levels of IL-10 and IL-12, respectively, lead to impaired immune responses against C. trachomatis. Increased semen levels of IL-17 may also be associated with the pathogenesis of C. trachomatis infection.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by grant from Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences and Tehran Avesina Research Center. We also thank Avesina Research Center for kindly providing semen samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Immunology of Infectious Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran

    Hamid Hakimi, Mohammad Kazemi Arababadi & Behzad Nasiri Ahmadabadi

  2. Avesina Research Institute, Shahidi Beheshti University, Evin, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Mehdi Akhondi, Mohammad Reza Sadeghi & Leila Chamani

  3. Molecular Medicine Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran

    Gholamhossein Hassanshahi

  4. Department of Social medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran

    Mahmoud Sheikh Fathollahi

Authors
  1. Hamid Hakimi
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  2. Mohammad Mehdi Akhondi
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  5. Mohammad Kazemi Arababadi
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Correspondence to Gholamhossein Hassanshahi.

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Hakimi, H., Akhondi, M.M., Sadeghi, M.R. et al. Seminal Levels of IL-10, IL-12, and IL-17 in Men with Asymptomatic Chlamydia Infection. Inflammation 37, 122–126 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-013-9719-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-013-9719-7

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