Serotype diversity and antigen variation among invasive isolates of Ureaplasma urealyticum from neonates

Ureaplasma urealyticum has previously been isolated from the cultured cerebrospinal fluid of 13 of 418 newborn infants; additional bloodstream isolates were obtained from the same population. Ten of the 13 cerebrospinal fluid and 3 bloodstream isolates were available for serotyping in the present study. By the use of serotype-specific reagents, including monoclonal antibodies, 70% of the cerebrospinal fluid isolates were identifiable as serotype 1, 3, 6, 8, or 10; i.e., they represented 5 of the 14 established serotypes or both presently defined genomic clusters. One of the bloodstream isolates was identified as serotype 3. Our data support the hypothesis that the property of invasiveness for unreaplasmas is likely not limited to one or a few particular serotypes among the 14 established serovars. Additionally, our study has shown that even in isolates of the same serotype, there can be size variation in the antigens expressed. Therefore, it would appear that many serotypes are invasive and that perhaps antigen variability and host factors may be more important determinants for ureaplasma infections than different serotypes per se.