Department of Clinical Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
J Infect Dev Ctries. 2024 Oct 31;18(10):1590-1600. doi: 10.3855/jidc.17592.
Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) is the etiological agent of the common non-viral sexually transmitted infection (STI), trichomoniasis. TV can inherently harbour Mycoplasma hominis and Trichomonas vaginalis virus (TVV) species. Endosymbiosis of TV with M. hominis and TVV may contribute to metronidazole resistance in this pathogen. This study determined the prevalence of TVVs across clinical isolates of TV, as well as the symbiosis between TV, TVV, and M. hominis in relation to metronidazole resistance.
Twenty-one clinical isolates of TV were analysed in this study. The isolates were subjected to drug susceptibility assays using varying concentrations of metronidazole. Nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) were extracted from the isolates for molecular assays. The presence of intracellular M. hominis was determined by 16S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers. The presence of the individual TVVs was determined by PCR using gene specific primers with template cDNA.
The prevalence of TVV and M. hominis were 76% (16/21) and 86% (18/21), respectively. No significant associations were observed between the presence of TVV and clinical symptoms. A significant association was noted between the coinfection of TVV4 and M. hominis (p = 0.014). The presence of any TVV was significantly associated with metronidazole susceptibility patterns (p = 0.012). No significant associations were noted between the coinfection of endosymbionts and metronidazole resistance.
The information obtained displays the ability of TV to form an endosymbiotic relationship with several microorganisms, simultaneously. Based on these findings, both endosymbionts pose no significant influence on metronidazole resistance.
阴道毛滴虫（TV）是常见的非病毒性性传播感染（STI）滴虫病的病原体。TV 可以天然携带支原体和阴道毛滴虫病毒（TVV）物种。TV 与 M. hominis 和 TVV 的共生可能导致该病原体对甲硝唑的耐药性。本研究确定了 TVV 在 TV 临床分离株中的流行情况，以及 TV、TVV 和 M. hominis 之间的共生关系与甲硝唑耐药性的关系。
本研究分析了 21 株临床分离的 TV。对这些分离株进行了使用不同浓度甲硝唑的药敏试验。从分离株中提取核酸（RNA 和 DNA）进行分子检测。使用 16S rRNA 聚合酶链反应（PCR）和特异性引物来确定细胞内 M. hominis 的存在。使用基因特异性引物和模板 cDNA 通过 PCR 确定单个 TVV 的存在。
TVV 和 M. hominis 的流行率分别为 76%（16/21）和 86%（18/21）。TVV 的存在与临床症状之间没有观察到显著关联。TVV4 与 M. hominis 的共同感染存在显著关联（p=0.014）。任何 TVV 的存在与甲硝唑敏感性模式显著相关（p=0.012）。共生体的共同感染与甲硝唑耐药性之间没有显著关联。
获得的信息显示了 TV 同时与几种微生物形成共生关系的能力。基于这些发现，共生体都不会对甲硝唑耐药性产生显著影响。
