Open AccessFailure of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection to confer protection against Mycoplasma genitalium: observations from a mouse model
Author(s) -
David TaylorRobinson,
P. M. Furr
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of medical microbiology/journal of medical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1473-5644
pISSN - 0022-2615
DOI - 10.1099/0022-1317-50-4-383
Subject(s) - mycoplasma genitalium , mycoplasma pneumoniae , vagina , biology , respiratory tract , mycoplasmataceae , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , immune system , mycoplasma , virology , serology , mollicutes , respiratory tract infections , antibody , pneumonia , chlamydia trachomatis , respiratory system , medicine , genetics , anatomy
Mycoplasma pneumoniae and M. genitalium are genomically distinct but share antigens that induce some serological cross-reactivity. Therefore, the possibility that M. pneumoniae infection of the human respiratory tract might provide immunity to M. genitalium infection of the genital tract was considered. Because of the difficulty of assessing this proposition in man, it was evaluated experimentally in a mouse model. Female BALB/c mice were susceptible to infection of the vagina with M. pneumoniae, whereas those infected previously in the oropharynx with M. pneumoniae were completely immune to infection of the vagina with this mycoplasma. However, all mice with such a respiratory tract infection were susceptible to infection of the vagina with M. genitalium. The findings suggest that an M. pneumoniae infection of the human respiratory tract is unlikely to influence infection of the genital tract by M. genitalium.