Mycoplasma penetrans sp. nov., from the Urogenital Tract of Patients with AIDS

Abstract

An unusual mycoplasma, which was isolated from the urine of a human immunodeficiency virus-positive male homosexual patient, has an elongated flask shape and two unique sharply divided internal compartments. The tiplike compartment is densely packed with fine granules, and the body compartment is loosely filled with coarse granules consistent with ribosomal structures. The organism has properties of adherence, hemadsorption, and cytadsorption and invades many different types of mammalian cells. Adhesion and penetration apparently involve the terminally located tiplike structure. Cholesterol is required for growth, and the mycoplasma ferments glucose and hydrolyzes arginine, but does not hydrolyze urea. The results of DNA homology studies revealed that this organism is not genetically related to previously described mycoplasma species that have the same biochemical properties. The results of serologic studies demonstrated that this organism is antigenically distinct from all previously described mycoplasmas. We propose that this new mollicute species should be named Mycoplasma penetrans sp. nov. The type strain is strain GTU-54-6A1 (= ATCC 55252).A total of 13 members of the class Mollicutes have been isolated from humans (5, 14, 35). The two most common isolation sites are respiratory and urogenital tracts (5, 3 9 , although isolation from synovial fluids of patients with arthritis (23) and isolation from other anatomical sites have also been reported (15,26,28).The most common mycoplasmas in human urogenital tracts are Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum (10, 35). Mycoplasma fernentans, Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma spermatophilum , Mycoplasma primaturn , Mycoplasma salivarium, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae are less common (5,14,35,37). The frequency of isolation of urogenital mycoplasmas depends in part on the group of individuals studied. Sexual activity, as well as multiple sexual partners, increases the rate of isolation (25). The isolation rates for urogenital mycoplasmas are also different in heterosexual and homosexual males (16).To date, there has been no systematic study of the urogenital mycoplasmas isolated from patients with AIDS. Our previous examination of urine samples from a small number of patients with AIDS in which we used the polymerase chain reaction and cultures for mycoplasmas revealed a high level of M. fermentam infection which was not found in non-AIDS controls (8). In a more comprehensive study, we isolated a previously unknown mycoplasma from urine samples from six patients with AIDS (18). In this paper we describe this organism and its unusual characteristics; we also describe our examination of its distinct biological, serological, and genetic properties, which was carried out in order to establish whether this organism should be given taxonomic status as a new mycoplasma species.* Corresponding author. MATERIALS AND METHODSIsolation and cultivation. SP-4 medium was prepared as described below. A 10-g portion of Tryptone (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Mich.), 5.3 g of pept...

Presence of Antibodies Against Mycoplasma penetrans in Patients with Antiphospholipid Syndrome

“…Anti-Mycoplasma penetrans antibodies are found even in asymptomatic HIV carriers and in patients in the process of developing AIDS Cordova, et al, 1999;Grau, et al 1995;Lo, et al 1991;Lo, et al 1992, Lo, et al 1993Wang, et al 1992;Wang, et al, 1993]. Both the rapid decline in CD4-positive lymphocyte counts in Mycoplasma penetrans -seropositive HIV-infected individuals and the mitogenic effects of this organism on lymphocytes imply a contribution of persistent Mycoplasma penetrans infection to the deterioration of the immune system in HIV infection.…”

Microbial and Viral Contamination of Animal and Stem Cell Cultures: Common Contaminants, Detection and Elimination

“…The cells in the initial stages of contamination continue to grow normally till the change in pH affects the normal growth of cell, thereby leading to its death within few days after contamination. 42 The fungal contamination appears unattached to cells or flask. Thin filamentous mycelia and clumps of spores are produced in media (Figure 1).…”

Identification of a site-specific tyrosine recombinase that mediates promoter inversions of phase-variable mpl lipoprotein genes in Mycoplasma penetrans

“…Mycoplasma penetrans was first isolated from a urine sample of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patient (Lo et al, 1992). It was also isolated as a potential aetiological agent from a primary antiphospholipid syndrome patient without HIV infection (Yáñez et al, 1999).…”

“…These mechanisms include DNA rearrangements (Glew et al, 2002;Shen et al, 2000), nucleotide insertions and deletions in the gene regions (Glew et al, 1998;Yogev et al, 1991), gene conversions (Noormohammadi et al, 2000), and sitespecific DNA recombinations (Chopra-Dewasthaly et al, 2008;Lysnyansky et al, 2001). Characterization of these genetic mechanisms may provide us with not only a detailed understanding of the surface antigenic variation mechanism of mycoplasmas but also an insight into the survival strategy of minimalist bacteria through utilization of their small genomes.Mycoplasma penetrans was first isolated from a urine sample of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patient (Lo et al, 1992). It was also isolated as a potential aetiological agent from a primary antiphospholipid syndrome patient without HIV infection (Yáñez et al, 1999).…”