Teng L J, Zheng X, Glass J I, Watson H L, Tsai J, Cassell G H
Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham 35294.
J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Jun;32(6):1464-9. doi: 10.1128/jcm.32.6.1464-1469.1994.
Ureaplasma urealyticum is a commensal organism of the lower genital tract of females, but in a subpopulation of individuals, it can invade the upper genital tract. It is a significant cause of chorioamnionitis and neonatal morbidity and mortality. There are 14 recognized serovars of U. urealyticum; these can be divided into two distinct clusters or biovars. Biovar 1 is composed of serovars 1, 3, 6, and 14, Biovar 2 is composed of serovars 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. We previously identified a surface antigen, the multiple-banded (MB) antigen, which contains both serovar-specific and cross-reactive epitopes. Genotypic characterization of the C-terminal region of the MB antigen of serovar 3 indicates that serovar specificity and MB antigen size variation reside in that domain. In the present study, we used PCR analysis with primers derived from the serovar 3 MB antigen gene DNA sequence to determine if the MB antigen gene was present in the remaining 13 reference serovars as well as in invasive clinical isolates. The results indicated that not only was the MB antigen gene present in all serovars but that the genes' 5' regions were markers of biovar specificity and diversity. Further analysis of this region should reveal the phylogenetic relationship among serovars of U. urealyticum and, possibly, their invasive potential.
解脲脲原体是女性下生殖道的一种共生微生物，但在一部分个体中，它可侵入上生殖道。它是绒毛膜羊膜炎以及新生儿发病和死亡的一个重要原因。已确认解脲脲原体有14个血清型；这些血清型可分为两个不同的簇或生物变种。生物变种1由血清型1、3、6和14组成，生物变种2由血清型2、4、5、7、8、9、10、11、12和13组成。我们之前鉴定出一种表面抗原，即多带（MB）抗原，它包含血清型特异性表位和交叉反应性表位。血清型3的MB抗原C末端区域的基因分型表明，血清型特异性和MB抗原大小变异存在于该结构域。在本研究中，我们使用从血清型3的MB抗原基因DNA序列衍生而来的引物进行PCR分析，以确定MB抗原基因是否也存在于其余13个参考血清型以及侵袭性临床分离株中。结果表明，不仅所有血清型中都存在MB抗原基因，而且这些基因的5′区域是生物变种特异性和多样性的标志物。对该区域的进一步分析应能揭示解脲脲原体各血清型之间的系统发育关系，以及它们可能的侵袭潜力。
