Significantly Higher Serologic Responses of Chlamydia Trachomatis B Group Serovars Versus C and I Serogroups

Chlamydia trachomatis serovars are divided into three serogroups, namely serogroup B, serogroup I (Intermediate) and serogroup C, and subsequently into 19 different serovars. Worldwide, serogroup B is the most prevalent followed by serogroup I. Clear differences have been observed in the duration of infection and growth kinetics between serovars from different serogroups in murine and cell culture models. Reasons for these observed differences are bacterial and host related, and are not well understood. The aim of this study was to determine the differences in immunoglobulin (Ig) G responses between the three serogroups in a group of patients infected with different serovars. Serovars were assessed from 235 C. trachomatispositive patients and quantitative IgG responses were determined. Analyses of variance were used to compare the IgG responses between the three serogroups. Of the serovars, 46% were B group (with serovar E the most prevalent: 35.3%), 39.6% were I group and 14.3% were C group. A highly significant difference in serologic response was shown when comparing the mean IgG concentrations (AU/mL) of patients having serovars in the most prevalent serogroup compared to the other serogroups: B = 135, C = 46 and I = 60 (B vs. C and B vs. I, P < 0.001). In conclusion, the most prevalent serovars generate the highest serologic responses.