Presence of Mycoplasma fermentans in the bloodstream of Mexican patients with rheumatoid arthritis and IgM and IgG antibodies against whole microorganism.
BACKGROUND
Increasing evidence incriminates bacteria, especially Mycoplasma fermentans, as possible arthritogenic agents in humans. The purpose of this study was to investigate M. fermentans in the bloodstream of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.


METHODS
Two hundred and nineteen blood samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome, and healthy individuals were screened by bacterial culture and direct PCR in order to detect mycoplasmas; IgM and IgG against M. fermentans PG18 were also detected by ELISA and Immunoblotting assays in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and healthy individuals.


RESULTS
Blood samples from patients with antiphospholipid syndrome and healthy individuals were negative for mycoplasma by culture or direct PCR. In blood samples from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were detected by direct PCR M. fermentans in 2/50 (2%), M. hominis in 2/50 (2%) and U. urealyticum in 1/50 (0.5%). In patients with RA M. fermentans was detected by culture in 13/87 blood samples and in 13/87 by direct PCR, however, there was only concordance between culture and direct PCR in six samples, so M. fermentans was detected in 20/87(23%) of the blood samples from patients with RA by either culture or PCR. Antibody-specific ELISA assay to M. fermentans PG18 was done, IgM was detected in sera from 40/87 patients with RA and in sera of 7/67 control individuals, IgG was detected in sera from 48/87 RA patients and in sera from 7/67 healthy individuals. Antibody-specific immunoblotting to M. fermentans PG18 showed IgM in sera from 35/87 patients with RA and in sera from 4/67 healthy individuals, IgG was detected in sera from 34/87 patients and in sera from 5/67 healthy individuals.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings show that only M. fermentans produce bacteremia in a high percentage of patients with RA. This finding is similar to those reported in the literature. IgM and IgG against M. fermentans PG18 were more frequent in patients with RA than healthy individuals.
Gil
Constantino
C
Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Microbiológicas, Instituto de Ciencias, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Edificio 103J, Ciudad Universitaria, Puebla, Pue, México. cgil@siu.buap.mx
Rivera
Antonio
A
Bañuelos
David
D
Salinas
Salvador
S
García-Latorre
Ethel
E
Cedillo
Lilia
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044467:American Indian or Alaska Native; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D016736:Antiphospholipid Syndrome / Q000208:ethnology / Q000382:microbiology; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood*; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000208:ethnology / Q000382:microbiology; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D016858:Mycoplasma fermentans / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019535:Mycoplasma hominis / Q000276:immunology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016990:Ureaplasma urealyticum / Q000276:immunology
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M