title: Mycoplasma fermentans in individuals seropositive and seronegative for HIV-1.
abstract: Mycoplasmas have been suggested as a co-factor to explain various puzzling features of infection by human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1). We sought Mycoplasma fermentans by means of a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in samples of peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), throat swabs, and urine samples from 117 HIV-seropositive patients (of whom 114 were homosexual men). M fermentans was detected in 12 (10%) PBMC samples, 15 (23%) of 65 throat samples, and 4 (8%) of 55 urine samples from the seropositive subjects. The organism was detected in similar proportions among 73 HIV-seronegative patients recruited from a sexually transmitted diseases clinic (9%, 20%, and 6%, respectively); again, most of the men (40 of 50) in this group were homosexual. We found no association between infection by the mycoplasma and stage of disease, CD4 count, or HIV-1 load. These findings do not, however, eliminate the possibility that the mycoplasmal infection could affect the speed of disease progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genitourinary Medicine and Communicable Diseases, St Mary's Hospital Medical School, London, UK.
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Katseni
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Gilroy
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Ryait
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ariyoshi
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Bieniasz
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Taylor-Robinson
mesh_terms: D015139:Blotting, Southern; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000382:microbiology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016858:Mycoplasma fermentans / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial