Ultrastructural Analysis of Urethral Polyps against the Background of Urogenital Infection

Abstract

We performed an electron microscopic study of samples of urethral polyps obtained from 90 women (mean age 52.5±4.9 years). According to PCR and culture studies, the most common infectious agent in patients with urethral polyps is U. urealyticum (100% cases). In 70% cases, this infectious agent was present as monoinfection, of these, clinically significant concentration (>10⁶ CFU/ml) were found in 53.3% cases. In 30% cases, associations with C. trachomatis, T. vaginalis, and M. genitalium were found. We observed significant ultrastructural heterogeneity of the epithelial cells in urethral polyps, which manifested in a combination of hyperplastic and metaplastic changes and signs of cytodestruction. Detection of mycoplasma-like bodies in connective tissue mononuclear cells and viral particles in epithelial cells during ultrastructural study, including cases with negative PCR results, indicates the pathogenetic role of latent infection in the formation of urethral polyps.