title: Unique vaginal microbiota that includes an unknown Mycoplasma-like organism is associated with Trichomonas vaginalis infection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis infection is highest in women with intermediate Nugent scores. We hypothesized that the vaginal microbiota in T. vaginalis-infected women differs from that in T. vaginalis-uninfected women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Vaginal samples from 30 T. vaginalis-infected women were matched by Nugent score to those from 30 T. vaginalis-uninfected women. Equal numbers of women with Nugent scores categorized as normal, intermediate, and bacterial vaginosis were included. The vaginal microbiota was assessed using 454 pyrosequencing analysis of polymerase chain reaction-amplified 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences. The 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence of an unknown organism was obtained by universal bacterial polymerase chain reaction amplification, cloning, and sequencing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Principal coordinates analysis of the pyrosequencing data showed divergence of the vaginal microbiota in T. vaginalis-infected and T. vaginalis-uninfected patients among women with normal and those with intermediate Nugent scores but not among women with bacterial vaginosis. Cluster analysis revealed 2 unique groups of T. vaginalis-infected women. One had high abundance of Mycoplasma hominis and other had high abundance of an unknown Mycoplasma species. Women in the former group had clinical evidence of enhanced vaginal inflammation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  T. vaginalis may alter the vaginal microbiota in a manner that is favorable to its survival and/or transmissibility. An unknown Mycoplasma species plays a role in some of these transformations. In other cases, these changes may result in a heightened host inflammatory response.
authors.affiliation: Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1542 Tulane Ave, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. dhmartin@lsuhsc.edu
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zozaya
authors.forename: Rebecca A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lillis
authors.forename: Leann
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: M Jacques
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Nsuami
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ferris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D006801:Humans; D054892:Metagenome / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019535:Mycoplasma hominis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D055820:New Orleans / Q000453:epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014247:Trichomonas Vaginitis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D014246:Trichomonas vaginalis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology*; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Trichomonas vaginalis; bacterial vaginosis; mycoplasmas; vaginal microbiota