Korean J Urol.  2011 Mar;52(3):194-199.

Detection of Nanobacteria in Patients with Chronic Prostatitis and Vaginitis by Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

• Kim TH
• Kim HR
• Myung SC

Abstract

PURPOSE
We aimed to investigate the detection of nanobacteria (NB) from expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) in patients with category III chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) and from vaginal swabs in patients with vaginitis by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and to evaluate the association between NB and Neisseria gonorrhea, Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum (U. urealyticum), Mycoplasma hominis, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Mycoplasma genitalium.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A group of 11 men attending a specialized CP/CPPS clinic and a group of 157 women who reported symptoms of lower genital tract infection were enrolled in this study. NB were detected by RT-PCR. A Seeplex Sexually Transmitted Disease Detection assay (Seegene Inc., Seoul, Korea) was used that could detect DNA for 6 types of sexually transmitted pathogens.
RESULTS
In EPS samples, the detection rate of NB in patients with CP/CPPS was 9.1%, and 9 (5.7%) of 157 vaginitis patients showed positive results in RT-PCR for NB in vaginal swabs. Associations observed among the 7 microorganisms included 6 (54.5%) patients who tested positive on EPS and 75 (47.8%) patients who tested positive on vaginal swabs. Five patients with vaginitis were found to have monoinfection of NB (6.7%).
CONCLUSIONS
We found that conventional RT-PCR for NB was rapid, simple, low in cost, and easily available for the detection of NB, and that NB may be a possible etiological factor for vaginitis and CP/CPPS. The prevalence of U. urealyticum among the four patients with NB coinfection was 75%; the presence of U. urealyticum might therefore raise suspicion for nanobacterial infection.

Keyword

Nanoparticles; Prostatitis; Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; Vaginitis

MeSH Terms

Calcifying Nanoparticles
Chlamydia trachomatis
Coinfection
DNA
Female
Gonorrhea
Humans
Male
Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma hominis
Nanoparticles
Neisseria
Pelvic Pain
Prevalence
Prostatitis
Reproductive Tract Infections
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Trichomonas vaginalis
Ureaplasma urealyticum
Vaginitis
Calcifying Nanoparticles
DNA
RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase

Figure

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  FIG. 1 Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for nanobacteria. M: size marker, Pt: patient with vaginitis, NC: negative control, bp: base pair.

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