Inflammatory and Immunoregulatory Cytokine Responses to Genital Mycoplasma and Other Vaginal Pathogens among Women in Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Genital mycoplasmas and other vaginal pathogens may influence host inflammatory responses, but their relationship with cytokine profiles remains incompletely understood. This study assessed the levels of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) among patients with genital mycoplasmas and other vaginal pathogens. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional approach was used to evaluate IL-1β and IL-10 concentrations among participants who tested positive or negative for Mycoplasma, Ureaplasma, and selected vaginal pathogens. Cytokine concentrations were compared between pathogen-positive and pathogen negative groups using analysis of variance, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: IL-1β concentrations did not differ significantly between positive and negative groups for any of the pathogens investigated. For Mycoplasma genitalium, mean IL-1β concentrations were 16.36 ± 1.92 and 16.16 ± 2.99, respectively (p = 0.813). Similarly, no significant differences were observed for M. hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, U. parvum, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, Candida species, haemolytic streptococci, or Trichomonas vaginalis. IL-10 levels tended to be higher among participants positive for M. genitalium (526.13 ± 172.21 vs. 426.52 ± 271.50) and U. parvum (521.11 ± 167.76 vs. 429.09 ± 270.06), although these differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.192 and 0.371, respectively). Conclusion: Genital mycoplasmas and other vaginal pathogens were not significantly associated with systemic IL-1β or IL-10 concentrations. The observed tendency toward increased IL-10 among some pathogen-positive groups may reflect an immunoregulatory response and warrants further investigation using larger, longitudinal studies and locally measured genital cytokine profiles.