Human Reproduction, Vol. 17, No. 3, 699-703,
March 2002
© 2002 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Chlamydia antibody testing in screening for tubal factor subfertility: the significance of IgG antibody decline over time*
1 Research Institute Growth and Development (GROW), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Maastricht and 2 Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Department of Medical Microbiology, Maastricht, The Netherlands
BACKGROUND: Chlamydia (C.) trachomatis antibody testing in screening for tubal factor subfertility is limited by false negative results, i.e. negative Chlamydia antibody tests in patients with tubal pathology at laparoscopy. The present study was performed to determine whether decline in C. trachomatis IgG antibodies over time is responsible for those false negative results. METHODS: A total of 39 women with an initial titre of 
64 were re-studied after 4–7 years. A new serum sample was collected from each patient. The initial and the second serum sample were tested for C. trachomatis IgG antibodies using a micro-immunofluorescence assay (MIF). A species-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to validate the MIF test results. All patients filled out a questionnaire to determine risk factors for renewed C. trachomatis infection between the initial and second serum sample. RESULTS: Seven of the 39 patients (18.0%) showed a decline (>2 titre steps) in IgG antibodies by MIF over a period of 4–7 years, but IgG antibodies never became undetectable. In the 7/39 patients who showed a decline by MIF, signal/cut-off values by ELISA did not change. CONCLUSION: A decline in IgG antibody titre is not a significant cause of false negative Chlamydia antibody test results.
Key words: IgG antibody/Chlamydia trachomatis/diagnostic test/screening/tubal factor subfertility
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Academisch ziekenhuis Maastricht, P.O.Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands. E-mail: agij{at}sgyn.azm.nl
* Part of the work was presented at the 15th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, Tours, France, June 27-30, 1999.
Submitted on December 30, 1999; resubmitted on September 3, 2001
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Gorander, T. Lagergard, M. Romanik, R. P. Viscidi, G. Martirosian, and J.-A. Liljeqvist Seroprevalences of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2, Five Oncogenic Human Papillomaviruses, and Chlamydia trachomatis in Katowice, Poland Clin. Vaccine Immunol., April 1, 2008; 15(4): 675 - 680. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Tiitinen, H.-M. Surcel, M. Halttunen, S. Birkelund, A. Bloigu, G. Christiansen, P. Koskela, S.G. Morrison, R.P. Morrison, and J. Paavonen Chlamydia trachomatis and chlamydial heat shock protein 60-specific antibody and cell-mediated responses predict tubal factor infertility Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2006; 21(6): 1533 - 1538. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. S. Murillo, J. A. Land, J. Pleijster, C. A. Bruggeman, A. S. Pena, and S. A. Morre Interleukin-1B (IL-1B) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN) gene polymorphisms are not associated with tubal pathology and Chlamydia trachomatis-related tubal factor subfertility Hum. Reprod., November 1, 2003; 18(11): 2309 - 2314. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. A. Akande, L. P. Hunt, D. J. Cahill, E.O. Caul, W.C. L. Ford, and J. M. Jenkins Tubal damage in infertile women: prediction using chlamydia serology Hum. Reprod., September 1, 2003; 18(9): 1841 - 1847. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|