title: Colonization of the respiratory and genital tracts of female mice with Mycoplasma pneumoniae and protection afforded to the genital tract by prior respiratory colonization.
abstract: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, strain MY 12763, colonized the throats of 6 BALB/c female mice for at least 18 days after intranasal inoculation. The same strain colonized, in high titre, the vagina of 9 of 10 progesterone-treated BALB/c mice for at least 35 days, but none of 10 oestradiol-treated mice. Mice were less susceptible to genital-tract colonization with the multiple broth-passed FH strain of M. pneumoniae, only 3 of 10 becoming colonized. The 6 mice inoculated intranasally with strain MY 12763 were immune to genital-tract colonization with the same strain, whereas 10 mice without respiratory-tract colonization were susceptible. Protection of the genital tract in this way was at least as effective as that afforded by previous genital-tract colonization. In a further experiment, 26 immunocompetent BALB/c mice colonized previously in the respiratory tract were resistant to vaginal colonization, whereas 20 BALB/c nude mice, similarly colonized in the respiratory tract, were susceptible in the vagina, illustrating the importance of cell-mediated immunity. The possible relevance of the findings to the human situation is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Imperial College School of Medicine, St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Furr
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Taylor-Robinson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009177:Mycoplasma pneumoniae; D011019:Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000494:pharmacology; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol