Mollicutes/HIV Coinfection and the Development of AIDS: Still Far from a Definitive Response

Abstract

Background. Mycoplasmas are known to cause various infections in humans, mainly in the respiratory and urogenital tracts. The different species are usually host-specific and cause diseases in well-defined sites. New species have been isolated, including those from HIV-infected persons. Summary. Its in vitro properties, combined with clinical findings, have led to the hypothesis that these microorganisms may act as cofactors of HIV in AIDS development. Even today this point of view is quite polemic among infectious disease specialists and many aspects remain to be clarified, in contrast to what happens, for instance, with HIV/Mycobacterium tuberculosis coinfection. Dozens of papers have been published covering aspects of Mollicutes/HIV coinfection, but they add little to no information about the putative contribution of Mollicutes to the evolution of AIDS. Very few researchers have devoted their efforts to trying to answer this question, which remains open. In this review, we discuss the evidences that may support this statement in the light of current knowledge in the field of mycoplasmology.

Anal Ureaplasma spp. positivity among HIV positive men who have sex with men may be associated with high-risk-type HPV infections

“…Previous studies reported similar Ureaplasma spp. colonization patterns in the genitourinary tract in HIV positive individuals, (Martinelli et al, 1999;Wang et al, 2012;de Cordova et al, 2016). This is, at least to our knowledge, the first study to evaluate the extent of anal Ureaplasma spp.…”

“…Among women they are responsible mainly for nongonococcal urethritis and bacterial vaginosis. Serious complications may occur during pregnancy and after delivery with manifestations like chorioamnionitis, post-partum and postabortal fever, congenital pneumonia, neonatal bacteremia and neonatal abscesses (Zhang et al, 2014;de Cordova et al, 2016).…”

“…Among men, Ureaplasma spp. has significantly been associated with non-gonoccocal urethritis and chronic prostatitis proving that it is more than just a harmless commensal (de Cordova et al, 2016;Povlsen et al, 2002;Wetmore et al, 2011). Here, HIV positive men who have sex with men (MSM) are affected by an increasing incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (Kirby, 2014) and infections at extra-genital sites have gained increasing significance in this population (Marcus et al, 2011;Rieg et al, 2008;Barbee et al, 2017;Patton et al, 2014).…”

Genital mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas in cervicovaginal self-collected samples of reproductive-age women: prevalence and risk factors

“…3 Genital mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas belong to the Mycoplasmataceae family and Mollicutes class. 4,5 They represent a group of atypical wall-less bacteria and are the smallest self-replicating organisms, both in genome size and cellular dimensions. 4,5 The introduction of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) has improved the knowledge regarding the epidemiology of these microorganisms and allowed to distinguish between species.…”

“…4,5 They represent a group of atypical wall-less bacteria and are the smallest self-replicating organisms, both in genome size and cellular dimensions. 4,5 The introduction of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) has improved the knowledge regarding the epidemiology of these microorganisms and allowed to distinguish between species. 3,6 As a result of sexual intercourse, genital mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas can be isolated from the genitourinary tract of both males and females.…”