Possible implicació d'infeccions de transmissió sexual en el desenvolupament de processos autoinmunitaris en dones estèrils

\b Study objective:\b0 To investigate the effects of several bacterial infections in the developement of autoinmunity in the endometrium of infertile women. \b Design:\b0 In women positive for anti-endometrium (AEA) or anti-heat shock proteins (HSP), we will investigate the mucosal immune response involved in the reproductive tract. \b Setting:\b0 Infertile patients that visit the Gynecology Unit of the Hospital del Valle Hebrón in Barcelona. \b Patients: \b0 Women with several pathologies leading to infertility, aged between 18 and 35 years, that attend for infertility in the couple. \b Interventions:\b0 We will detect the presence of antibodies anti-\i Chlamydia\i0 , and anti-endometrium in sera, by immunoenzymatic assays. The lymphocite subsets involved in the immune response will be analyzed by RT-PCR and flow cytometry. The lymphocyte responses anti-\i Chlamydia\i0 , or anti-HSP will be measured by proligferative assays. \b Measurements:\b0 We will investigate if the autoimmune response in infertile women is caused by several bacterial infections, or if it is induced by specific endometrial antigens or by bacterial/human HSP. We will correlate the immune response with the patologies under study.