Markedly elevated plasma myeloperoxidase protein in patients with pelvic inflammatory disease who have A allele myeloperoxidase gene polymorphism

Objective: To compared the plasma levels and the genetic polymorphism of myeloperoxidase in patients with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and healthy controls.

Design: A random consecutive study.

Setting: University hospital.

Patient(s): Forty-four women who were diagnosed with PID.

Intervention(s): Collected blood specimens of patients before and after they received treatment.

Main outcome measure(s): ELISA and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism were respectively used to measure the plasma levels and genetic polymorphism of myeloperoxidase.

Result(s): We found the plasma level of myeloperoxidase was elevated in PID patients compared with that in normal controls and decreased significantly compared with that in the same patients after they received treatment. PID patients with myeloperoxidase G/A alleles significantly tended to have elevated plasma concentration of myeloperoxidase, whereas PID patients with G/G homozygous alleles did not.

Conclusion(s): Elevated expression of myeloperoxidase may be involved in the pathogenesis of PID and could be useful for the diagnosis of PID. Furthermore, G/A alleles of myeloperoxidase may contribute to such elevation in PID patients.