Studying the relationship between IL-18, INF-β and mycoplasmas among urinary-genital tract infections for females in Babylon Province, Iraq

Abstract

Mycoplasma is causing many reproductive diseases and genital disorders, as they are associated with other bacteria such as Ureaplasma urealyticum. The aim of the study is to determine the relationships between the fastidious microbial infection (Mycoplasma spp. and Ureaplasma spp.) and some immunological parameters for urinary-genital tract infections (UGTIs). The study includes a collection of (223) samples (urine and blood) from UGTIs patients (female only), (according to the initial laboratory diagnosis by the Parasitological unit for all the patients under study), who arrived at the Hospital in Babylon (from January to June 2021). The results of the immunological examination of some immunological parameters were done using ELISA for the measurement of IL-18 and INF-β concentration. The mean of IL-18 urine concentration in patients (13.39±3.3 pg/ml) was significantly increased at a p-value ≤ 0.05 compared with the control (10.63±2.1 pg/ml), while the mean of IL-18 serum concentration in patients (12.01±9.8 pg/ml) has no significant difference compared with the control group (9.22±2.4 pg/ml). The mean INF-β urine concentration in patients (269.89±66.1 pg/ml) was significantly increased compared with the control (210.22±69.3 pg/ml), also the mean INF-β serum concentration in patients (230.56±91.5 pg/ml) was significantly increased compared with the control group (174.38±36.2 pg/ml).