title: Association of Trichomonas vaginalis with its symbiont Mycoplasma hominis synergistically upregulates the in vitro proinflammatory response of human monocytes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Trichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of trichomoniasis, one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases worldwide. In recent years we have described the symbiotic relationship between T vaginalis and Mycoplasma hominis. How this biological association might affect the pathogenicity of one or both the microorganisms is still unknown. Since local inflammation is thought to play a central role in T vaginalis infection, we investigated the in vitro response of human macrophages to naturally mycoplasma-free T vaginalis, as compared to a mycoplasma-infected trichomonad isolate.
  
  
  METHODS
  THP-1 cells were stimulated with two isogenic T vaginalis isolates, one naturally mycoplasma-free and one stably associated with M hominis, and secreted cytokines measured by ELISA. Nuclear factor κB (NFκB) involvement in THP-1 response to T vaginalis and M hominis was evaluated by means of a reporter system based on detection of alkaline phosphatase activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the presence of M hominis upregulates the expression of a panel of proinflammatory cytokines in a synergistic fashion. We also found that the upregulation of the proinflammatory response by THP-1 cells involves the transcription factor NFκB.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that the presence of M hominis in T vaginalis isolates might play a key role in inflammation during trichomoniasis, thus affecting the severity of the disease. The synergistic upregulation of the macrophage proinflammatory response might also affect some important clinical conditions associated with T vaginalis infection, such as the increased risk of acquiring cervical cancer or HIV, which are thought to be affected by the inflammatory milieu during trichomoniasis.
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
authors: Pier Luigi
authors: PL
authors: Fiori
authors: Nicia
authors: N
authors: Diaz
authors: Anna Rita
authors: AR
authors: Cocco
authors: Paola
authors: P
authors: Rappelli
authors: Daniele
authors: D
authors: Dessì
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis; D002460:Cell Line; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D019535:Mycoplasma hominis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D013559:Symbiosis; D014246:Trichomonas vaginalis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D016207:Cytokines; D016328:NF-kappa B; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase
keywords: INFLAMMATION; MYCOPLASMA; TRICHOMONAS