Mycoplasma infection and rheumatoid arthritis: Analysis of their relationship using immunoblotting and an ultrasensitive polymerase chain reaction detection method

Abstract

Objective.To examine the relationship between infection with Mycoplasma and the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis ( J U ) . Methods.Immunoblotting of patient synovial fluid and sera on detergent-phase membrane protein extracts of various Mycoplasma species was carried out to learn whether patients exhibited serologic evidence of previous exposure to mycoplasmas. Moreover, an ultrasensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed for assessing whether Mycoplasma DNA could be detected in synovial fluid from patients and controls.Results. Immunoblotting provided serologic evidence of previous Mycoplasma exposure in patients and controls. The genus-specific PCR detected known human Mycoplasma species and could reliably detect <5 copies of Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma fermentans, or a molecular mimic control in synovial fluid. Repeat testing revealed no evidence of Mycoplasma DNA in patient synovial samples.Conclusion. This study provided serologic evidence suggesting that, while previous exposure to Mycoplasma was common, there was no detectable persistence of Mycoplasma DNA in the synovial fluid or tissue of patients with RA or JRA.

Mycoplasmal lipid-associated membrane proteins and Mycoplasma arthritidis mitogen recognition by serum antibodies from patients with rheumatoid arthritis

“…Together, the results suggest individual or selective immune responses to mycoplasmal LAMPs what is in agreement with results obtained by other authors [27,28]. Hoffman et al [29] also used Western blot technique to detect antibodies against LAMPs of M. hominis 1620 and of M. fermentans PG18 in patients with different arthritides. The profile of antibody reactivity was similar to those obtained here; however, they did not find differences between patient and control responses.…”

“…In spite of these possibilities, antibodies to mycoplasmal antigens are also detected in healthy individuals. The immune responses to mycoplasmal LAMPs are individual or selective [29,30] and some individuals carrying mycoplasmas do not develop autoimmune disease even when they are producing antibodies to mycoplasmal antigens. We suggest that it occurs because the activation of lymphocytes requires molecules coded by genes of the major histocompatibility complex, which are different among individuals.…”

Simultaneous and rapid differential diagnosis of Mycoplasma genitalium and Ureaplasma urealyticum based on a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism

“…[15,18,19] Using a PCR assay with only one primer pair reduces the costs as well as the set-up time and the complexity of the reaction mixture. [18,19] Designing multiple primer pairs and their set-up in a single PCR reaction mixture is rather tedious and cannot be effectively performed in every clinical laboratory. [16] …”

Les complications ostéoarticulaires des déficits immunitaires primitifs

“…Dans quelques rares observations, ces bactéries ont été identifiées par microscopie électronique ou par hybridation in situ, mais ces techniques fastidieuses ne sont pas utilisables en pratique quotidienne [33]. Actuellement, leur recherche peut se faire par des techniques d'amplification génique (PCR) qui permettent d'identifier rapidement avec spécificité et sensibilité l'ADN de ces bactéries [21,34]. Ces méthodes peuvent s'appliquer à des prélèvements congelés (ou plus difficilement après conservation en paraffine), mais elles ne s'effectuent pas en routine.…”

“…Chez l'homme, les mycoplasmes sont aussi des agents arthritogènes qui ont été isolés dans des prélèvements synoviaux d'arthrites présumées réactionnelles, mais également dans ceux de rhumatismes inflammatoires chroniques, comme la polyarthrite rhumatoïde (PR) [29,34,[47][48][49][50]. Selon les études, on observe des différences parfois importantes qui s'expliquent probablement par la pertinence des métho-des d'extraction d'ADN synovial et d'amplification génique utilisées.…”