| Abstract: | Objective To study the mechanism of Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) infection to the genesis of urogenital stone. Methods One hundred male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: group A (n=45) rats were inoculated intravesically with 1ml (105 CCU/ml) of UU serotype 8 (T960) broth. Group B (n=22) rats were treated as the group A, 3 months later, administration of Minomycin (20~100mg/kg, oral daily for 14d) was given to each rat. Group C (n=33) rats were given sterile broth intravesically as control. After UU inoculation UU were collected from different parts of urogenital tract and cultured. In 3 testes positive in UU culture, UU specilic DNA fragments were tested by PCR technique. Results The percentages of positive UU culture in groop A animals were 87.5% in urinary bladders, 62.5% in testes, 55% in ePididymides, 65% in seminal vesicles, and 57.5% in prostates. The corresponding percentages in group B were significantly lower than that in group A (P<0.01). The incidences of bladder stones in groop A and B were 40% vs 35% (P>0.05). The main comPonent of stone was struvite (MgNH4PO4 6H2O). MicroscOPically, microlithes were found in seminderous tubules in 4 infected rats. In microlithes containing tubules, germinal cells and Sertoli cells were exfoliated or even absent. In some tubules, only membrana limitans remained intact. No microlithes found in testicular interstitial tissue. Cooclusion UU infection does induce urogenital stones and Minomycin can inhibit UU growth. With interlerence on spermatogenesis, UU may be one of the causes of male inlertility. |
