[Research progress in pathogenicity of Ureaplasma urealyticum].

Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) is closely related to human diseases including non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU), infertility, premature membranes and neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Researches on the pathogenicity of UU have become a hot topic in recent years, and suggest that many potential pathogenicity genes or putative pathogenicity islands are involved in its virulence. Moreover, the biovar and serum types of UU, the infection concentration and the state of the host immune system are also important to determine whether UU can cause human disease or not. In this article the recent progress of researches in the pathogenicity of UU is reviewed.