Lack of association between Mycoplasma hominis and Trichomonas vaginalis symbiosis in relation to metronidazole resistance.

Resistance mechanisms of Trichomonas vaginalis to metronidazole are still not well understood. It has been shown that Mycoplasma hominis has the ability to establish an endosymbiotic relationship with T. vaginalis. This study investigated the association between T. vaginalis and M. hominis symbiosis in relation to metronidazole resistance. This study included 362 pregnant women from the King Edward VIII hospital in South Africa. The women provided self-collected vaginal swabs for the diagnosis of T. vaginalis by culture. Metronidazole susceptibility using the broth-microdilution assay was performed. Detection of the 16S rRNA from M. hominis using T. vaginalis genomic DNA as the template was performed. All statistical analysis was conducted in R statistical computing software. A total of 21 culture positive isolates were obtained resulting in a prevalence of 5.8% for T. vaginalis in the study population. Under anaerobic incubation, 52.4% (11/21) of the isolates were susceptible to metronidazole (MIC ≤ 1 µg/ml). Intermediate resistance (MIC of 2 µg/ml) and full resistance (4 µg/ml) was observed in 38.1% (8/21) and 9.5% (2/21) of the isolates, respectively. The majority of the isolates 95% (19/20) were susceptible to metronidazole under aerobic conditions. Only one isolate had a MIC of 50 µg/ml. M. hominis was shown to be present in 85.7% (18/21) of the T. vaginalis isolates. However, there was no significant association between metronidazole susceptibility and T. vaginalis-M. hominis symbiosis. This study provides evidence of emerging metronidazole resistance in T. vaginalis. However, these resistance profiles were not associated with M. hominis symbiosis.

Prevalence of double-stranded RNA virus in Trichomonas vaginalis isolated in Italy and association with the symbiont Mycoplasma hominis.

The flagellated protozoon Trichomonas vaginalis, responsible for trichomoniasis, can establish a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Mycoplasma hominis and can harbor double-stranded RNA Trichomonasvirus (TVV). In this study, we investigated by real-time PCR the prevalence of the four TVVs and of M. hominis among 48 T. vaginalis strains isolated in Italy, and we evaluated a possible association with metronidazole resistance. Fifty percent of the analyzed trichomonad strains tested positive for at least one TVV T. vaginalis, with TVV2 being the most prevalent, followed by TVV1 and TVV3. Two T. vaginalis strains were infected by TVV4, detected in Europe for the first time. Interestingly, we found more than one TVV species in 75% of positive trichomonad strains. M. hominis was present in 81.25% of T. vaginalis isolates tested, and no statistically significant association was observed with the infection by any TVV. Metronidazole sensitivity of T. vaginalis isolates was evaluated in vitro, and no correlation was observed between minimal lethal concentration and the presence of TVVs. This is the first report on TVV infection of T. vaginalis in Italy. Even if no association of TVV positive isolates with the presence of the symbiont M. hominis or with metronidazole resistance was observed, further studies are needed to shed light on the effective role of infecting microorganisms on the pathophysiology of T. vaginalis.

MHO_0730 as a Surface-Exposed Calcium-Dependent Nuclease of Mycoplasma hominis Promoting Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation and Escape.

Mycoplasma lipoproteins play a relevant role in pathogenicity and directly interact with the host immune system. Among human mycoplasmas, Mycoplasma hominis is described as a commensal bacterium that can be associated with a number of genital and extragenital conditions. Mechanisms of M. hominis pathogenicity are still largely obscure, and only a limited number of proteins have been associated with virulence. The current study focused on investigating the role of MHO_0730 as a virulence factor and demonstrated that MHO_0730 is a surface lipoprotein, potentially expressed in vivo during natural infection, acting both as a nuclease with its amino acidic portion and as a potent inducer of Neutrophil extracellular trapsosis with its N-terminal lipid moiety. Evidence for M. hominis neutrophil extracellular trap escape is also presented. Results highlight the relevance of MHO_0730 in promoting infection and modulation and evasion of innate immunity and provide additional knowledge on M. hominis virulence and survival in the host.

Trichomonas vaginalis and Mycoplasma hominis: new tales of two old friends.

Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobic protist, responsible for the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted infection in humans. One of the most intriguing aspects of T. vaginalis pathobiology is the complex relationship with intracellular microbial symbionts: a group of dsRNA viruses belonging to family of Totiviridae (T. vaginalis virus), and eubacteria belonging to the Mycoplasma genus, in particular Mycoplasma hominis. Both microorganisms seem to strongly influence the lifestyle of T. vaginalis, suggesting a role of the symbiosis in the high variability of clinical presentation and sequelae during trichomoniasis. In the last few years many aspects of this unique symbiotic relationship have been investigated: M. hominis resides and replicates in the protozoan cell, and T. vaginalis is able to pass the bacterial infection to both mycoplasma-free protozoan isolates and human epithelial cells; M. hominis synergistically upregulates the proinflammatory response of human monocytes to T. vaginalis. Furthermore, the influence of M. hominis over T. vaginalis metabolism and physiology has been characterized. The identification of a novel species belonging to the class of Mollicutes (Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii) exclusively associated to T. vaginalis opens new perspectives in the research of the complex series of events taking place in the multifaceted world of the vaginal microbiota, both under normal and pathological conditions.

Establishment of Multiplex Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification for Rapid Detection of Genitourinary Mycoplasma.

BACKGROUND: Genitourinary Mycoplasma (Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, and Mycoplasma genitalium) is a common pathogen among women, which can cause funisitis, spontaneous abortion, and low birth weight. However, current laboratory testing methods for genitourinary mycoplasma normally need complex processes, expensive devices, and qualified staffs, and there are many limits for application. Up to now, the LAMP method is a rapidly developing field because of the significance for clinical application and commercial value. Few studies have reported the use of mLAMP to detect UU, MH, and MG. In this study, a multiplex loop-mediated isothermal amplification system was developed for rapid detection of UU, MH, and MG, concurrently. METHODS: Three sets of multiplex LAMP primers were designed to specifically target urease of UU, 16S rRNA of MH, and mgpa of MG. The ratio of primer concentration was optimized. The specificity and sensitivity of multiplex LAMP were explored. Twenty-nine clinical samples were successfully used with mLAMP. RESULTS: In this study, the primer concentration in the mLAMP system was set to 1.3 µmol/L which could maintain reaction efficiency and avoid non-specific reaction. Multiplex LAMP can test UU, MG, and MH simultaneously with high specificity. Meanwhile, the sensitivity of multiplex LAMP was found to be 100 pg for UU, 100 pg for MH and 1 ng for MG, which was much higher than that of conventional PCR. Furthermore, among the 29 clinical samples, there were two positive samples determined by mLAMP, which was consistent with the PCR and sequencing results. CONCLUSIONS: The multiplex LAMP assay can potentially facilitate simultaneous detection of three kinds of mycoplasma in a large number of samples in clinic, which could be used as a primary screening method and as a supplementary method for classical methods.

Generation of Mycoplasma hominis gene-targeted mutants by targeting-induced local lesions in genomes (TILLING).

BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma hominis is a human urogenital pathogen involved in gynaecological, neonatal and extra-genital infections. However, no versatile genetic tools are currently available to study the pathogenicity of this bacterium. Targeting-Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING) is a reverse-genetic method that combines point mutations induced by chemical mutagenesis with a DNA screening technique. We used ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) that introduces C-G to T-A transition mutations to generate a library of M. hominis mutants. As a proof of concept, mutagenized organisms were screened for mutations in two target genes previously associated with the mycoplasma pathogenicity, the vaa gene encoding an adhesin lipoprotein and the oppA gene encoding the main ectoATPase of the bacterium. The resulting mutants were evaluated using functional assays, an adhesion to HeLa cell assay for vaa-mutants and an ATPase activity test for oppA-mutants. RESULTS: A 1200-clone library was generated by exposing M. hominis PG21 to 9 mg/mL EMS for 3 h. To identify mutants of interest, targeted gene fragments were amplified, heat-denatured, slowly reannealed and digested with the mismatch-specific endonuclease ENDO1. If multiple alleles were present in the PCR amplicons, these alleles formed heteroduplexes during reannealing that were specifically cleaved by ENDO1 at mismatching positions. A total of four vaa-mutants and two oppA-mutants harbouring missense mutations were obtained and fully sequenced. Zero to eight additional mutations were identified in the genomes of each mutant. The vaa-mutants were tested for adhesion to immobilized HeLa cells but their adhesion was not significantly different from the adhesion of M. hominis PG21. One of the two oppA-mutants that were tested for ATPase activity presented a higher affinity for its ATP substrate than the parental strain. CONCLUSION: For the first time, we demonstrated that M. hominis gene-targeted mutants could be successfully obtained using this TILLING strategy. In the absence of robust genetic tools for studying M. hominis, the TILLING strategy that can target any gene of the genome could help to elucidate gene functions and to better understand the pathogenesis of this human pathogenic species.

Mycoplasma hominis shows strain-dependent increase in resistance to selected antibiotics after symbiosis with Trichomonas vaginalis.

OBJECTIVES: Mycoplasma hominis, a genetically heterogeneous, cell-wall-less bacterium, is able to live in symbiosis with the protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis. Whilst the impact of this symbiosis on T. vaginalis has been investigated to a certain extent, less light has been shed on the influence on M. hominis. METHODS: An in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) study of the antimicrobial susceptibility of three clinical M. hominis isolates (V475, AKH136 and MhSS10) to clindamycin, moxifloxacin, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin was performed in dependence on symbiosis with T. vaginalis strain IR78. RESULTS: Passaging of M. hominis through T. vaginalis led to an increase in MICs to all drugs investigated in M. hominis V475 and M. hominis MhSS10 (apart from gentamicin). Shifts from intermediate to resistant (MhSS10 for ciprofloxacin) and from susceptible to intermediate-resistant (V475 for gentamicin; P=0.015) were observed. Moreover, initial susceptibility of V475 to moxifloxacin (MIC=1.35µg/mL) was statistically significantly reduced (MIC=2.5µg/mL) following T. vaginalis passage concomitantly with mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) of gyrA (S153L) and parC (E195G and K144R). In contrast, the susceptibility of M. hominis isolate AKH136 to all drugs investigated increased after passaging. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that symbiosis with T. vaginalis has an enhancing effect on selected antimicrobial resistances of distinct M. hominis isolates.

To Decipher the Mycoplasma hominis Proteins Targeting into the Endoplasmic Reticulum and Their Implications in Prostate Cancer Etiology Using Next-Generation Sequencing Data.

Cancer was initially considered a genetic disease. However, recent studies have revealed the connection between bacterial infections and growth of different types of cancer. The enteroinvasive strain of Mycoplasma hominis alters the normal behavior of host cells that may result in the growth of prostate cancer. The role of M. hominis in the growth and development of prostate cancer still remains unclear. The infection may regulate several factors that influence prostate cancer growth in susceptible individuals. The aim of this study was to predict M. hominis proteins targeted into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of the host cell, and their potential role in the induction of prostate cancer. From the whole proteome of M. hominis, 19 proteins were predicted to be targeted into the ER of host cells. The results of our study predict that several proteins of M. hominis may be targeted to the host cell ER, and possibly alter the normal pattern of protein folding. These predicted proteins can modify the normal function of the host cell. Thus, the intercellular infection of M. hominis in host cells may serve as a potential factor in prostate cancer etiology.

Mycoplasma hominis impacts gene expression in Trichomonas vaginalis.

In Europe, up to 90% of isolated Trichomonas vaginalis strains are naturally infected with Mycoplasma hominis, a facultative pathogen of the human genital tract. The consequences of this endosymbiosis are not yet well understood. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of natural and artificial infections with M. hominis on the RNA expression levels of metronidazole susceptibility-associated genes of T. vaginalis. Three T. vaginalis strains (TVSS10-, TVSS25-, G3) without M. hominis, as well as the same strains naturally (TVSS10+, TVSS25+) and artificially (G3-MhSS25, TVSS25-MhSS25) infected with M. hominis, were investigated for their expression profiles of three genes associated with metronidazole resistance (ferredoxin, flavin reductase 1 and pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase). The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of metronidazole were evaluated for all combinations and the respective M. hominis-free T. vaginalis strains were used as controls. The sole presence of M. hominis led to a down-regulation of metronidazole susceptibility-associated genes in all T. vaginalis strains tested. Interestingly, the effect was more prominent in the artificial symbioses. Moreover, a twofold enhancement of metronidazole tolerability was observed in three infected T. vaginalis strains, compared to the respective strains without M. hominis. In conclusion, M. hominis had an impact on gene expression in all T. vaginalis strains and on metronidazole MIC in all but one strain tested.

Mycoplasma hominis periaortic abscess following heart-lung transplantation.

We report the first case of Mycoplasma hominis periaortic abscess after heart-lung transplantation. The absence of sternal wound infection delayed the diagnosis, but the patient successfully recovered with debridement surgeries and long-term antibiotic therapy. Owing to the difficulty in detection and the intrinsic resistance to beta-lactams, M. hominis infections are prone to being misdiagnosed and undertreated. M. hominis should be suspected in cases where conventional microbiological identification and treatment approaches fail.

Prediction of mycoplasma hominis proteins targeting in mitochondria and cytoplasm of host cells and their implication in prostate cancer etiology.

Although the idea of bacteria causing different types of cancer has exploded about century ago, the potential mechanisms of carcinogenesis is still not well established. Many reports showed the involvement of M. hominis in the development of prostate cancer, however, mechanistic approach for growth and development of prostate cancer has been poorly understood. In the current study, we predicted M. hominis proteins targeting in the mitochondria and cytoplasm of host cells and their implication in prostate cancer. A total of 77 and 320 proteins from M. hominis proteome were predicted to target in the mitochondria and cytoplasm of host cells respectively. In particular, various targeted proteins may interfere with normal growth behaviour of host cells, thereby altering the decision of programmed cell death. Furthermore, we investigated possible mechanisms of the mitochondrial and cytoplasmic targeted proteins of M. hominis in etiology of prostate cancer by screening the whole proteome.

Leukocyte Lysis and Cytokine Induction by the Human Sexually Transmitted Parasite Trichomonas vaginalis.

Trichomonas vaginalis (Tv) is an extracellular protozoan parasite that causes the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection: trichomoniasis. While acute symptoms in women may include vaginitis, infections are often asymptomatic, but can persist and are associated with medical complications including increased HIV susceptibility, infertility, pre-term labor, and higher incidence of cervical cancer. Heightened inflammation resulting from Tv infection could account for these complications. Effective cellular immune responses to Tv have not been characterized, and re-infection is common, suggesting a dysfunctional adaptive immune response. Using primary human leukocyte components, we have established an in vitro co-culture system to assess the interaction between Tv and the cells of the human immune system. We determined that in vitro, Tv is able to lyse T-cells and B-cells, showing a preference for B-cells. We also found that Tv lysis of lymphocytes was mediated by contact-dependent and soluble factors. Tv lysis of monocytes is far less efficient, and almost entirely contact-dependent. Interestingly, a common symbiont of Tv, Mycoplasma hominis, did not affect cytolytic activity of the parasite, but had a major impact on cytokine responses. M. hominis enabled more diverse inflammatory cytokine secretion in response to Tv and, of the cytokines tested, Tv strains cleared of M. hominis induced only IL-8 secretion from monocytes. The quality of the adaptive immune response to Tv is therefore likely influenced by Tv symbionts, commensals, and concomitant infections, and may be further complicated by direct parasite lysis of effector immune cells.

Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum in Pregnant Women.

Mycoplasma hominis (M. hominis) and Ureaplasma urealyticum (U. urealyticum) are important opportunistic pathogens that cause urogenital infections and complicate pregnancy. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, effects on pregnancy outcomes, and antimicrobial susceptibilities of M. hominis and U. urealyticum. We tested vaginal swabs obtained from 1035 pregnant women for the presence of genital mycoplasmas between June 2009 and May 2014. The laboratory and clinical aspects of genital mycoplasmas infection were reviewed retrospectively, and the identification and antimicrobial susceptibility of genital mycoplasmas were determined using the Mycoplasma IST-2 kit. A total of 571 instances of M. hominis and/or U. urealyticum were detected. Of them, M. hominis was detected in two specimens, whereas U. urealyticum was detected in 472 specimens. The remaining 97 specimens were positive for both M. hominis and U. urealyticum. Preterm deliveries were frequently observed in cases of mixed infection of M. hominis and U. urealyticum, and instances of preterm premature rupture of membrane were often found in cases of U. urealyticum. The rates of non-susceptible isolates to erythromycin, empirical agents for pregnant women, showed increasing trends. In conclusion, the prevalence of M. hominis and/or U. urealyticum infections in pregnant women is high, and the resistance rate of antimicrobial agents tends to increase. Therefore, to maintain a safe pregnancy, it is important to identify the isolates and use appropriate empirical antibiotics immediately.

Mycoplasma hominis and Gardnerella vaginalis display a significant synergistic relationship in bacterial vaginosis.

Gardnerella vaginalis plays an important role in bacterial vaginosis (BV,) while the role of genital Mollicutes is less obvious. The diagnosis of BV by use of the current Gram stain Nugent score is also suboptimal for defining the role of Mollicutes that lack a cell wall. Since bacterial load and diversity is an important prerequisite for BV, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays enable these to be assessed. The purpose of this study was to define the role of genital Mollicutes and potential patterns of synergy with G. vaginalis in women with BV. Vaginal swabs from 130 women categorised by Nugent score as BV (n = 28), intermediate (n = 22) and non-BV (n = 80) were tested against four qPCR TaqMan assays targeting G. vaginalis, Mycoplasma hominis, M. genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum and U. parvum. Statistical analyses were used to compare bacterial prevalence and load between the three groups of women. Mycoplasma hominis and G. vaginalis co-infection was significantly more common in BV (60.7 %) compared to intermediate (36.4 %) and non-BV (8.8 %) Nugent scores (p < 0.001). Significantly higher loads of M. hominis (p = 0.001) and G. vaginalis (p < 0.001) were detected in women with BV and the respective loads in M. hominis and G. vaginalis co-infections displayed a significant positive correlation (p < 0.001; r = 0.60). No significant associations were seen with the other Mollicutes. The findings strengthen the evidence of a role for M. hominis in BV and a potential synergy with G. vaginalis. This synergy could be an important trigger of the condition and sexual contact the conduit for the transmission of an otherwise commensal bacterium that could initiate it.

[MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES ON KIDNEY STONES].

The clinical material obtained surgically in patients with kidney stone disease (KSD) was tested for content of the stone microflora using PCR and standard microbiological methods. It was demonstrated that about 50% of stones in patients with KSD were infected with various infection agents as observed using standard microbiological and molecular genetic methods. The percentage of detection of the Mycoplasma hominis using cultural method is lower than the percentage detected using PCR, which is due to difficult isolation and cultivation, as well as DNA fragments of mycoplasma observed after antibiotic therapy. Studies based on modern microscopy methods showed that microorganisms on the surface of the kidney stone formed multispecies biofilms.

Possible involvement of Mycoplasma hominis in inhibiting the formation of biofilms by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC).

Here we examined the involvement of Mycoplasma hominis in the formation of biofilms by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strain CFT073. Initially, we thought that M. hominis does not affect the fitness of UPEC, including the growth and production of signaling molecules, such as autoinducer-2 and indole. We found, however, that the presence of M. hominis significantly decreased the degree of biofilm formation by UPEC CFT073 (approximately a 60% reduction for 10(5) ccu/mL of M. hominis as compared with UPEC alone). We also found that it had a slight effect in inhibiting the attachment and cytotoxicity of UPEC CFT073. These findings are specific to these UPEC strains rather than to enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) strains, found in normal intestinal flora. In addition, we performed whole-transcriptome profiling and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. This indicated that the PhoPQ system and the anti-termination protein (encoded by ybcQ) were involved in the reduction of biofilm formation by M. hominis (corroborated by qRT-PCR). Furthermore, our results indicate that M. hominis raises the degree of transcription of toxin genes, including hha and pasT. Hence, we suggest a possible role of M. hominis in affecting the formation of biofilms by UPEC in the urinary tract.

Association of Trichomonas vaginalis with its symbiont Mycoplasma hominis synergistically upregulates the in vitro proinflammatory response of human monocytes.

OBJECTIVES: 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.

[Effects of the symbiosis of Trichomonas vaginalis with Mycoplasma hominis on ferredoxin gene].

We isolated 30 Trichomonas vaginalis for the PCR detection from the gynecological outpatients in the Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University using the specific 16s rDNA primers of Mycoplasma hominis. The results showed that there were 25 cases of Mycoplasma hominis infection, with the infection rate of 83.33%. This gave a clew that the symbiosis of Trichomonas vaginalis with Mycoplasma hominis may be of certain generality in China. We sequenced the ferredoxin gene of 10 Trichomonas vaginalis where 5 Mycoplasma hominis were positive and five negative, and found that the ferredoxin (Fd) gene of the 10 Trichomonas vaginalis were exactly the same. But compared to the genes in the GenBank, a comparative analysis of the gene revealed that there were 3 more ctg bases at the 200th position of encoding leucine, but this did not lead to changes in reading frame. The gene homology was 99%.

In Mycoplasma hominis the OppA-mediated cytoadhesion depends on its ATPase activity.

BACKGROUND: In Mycoplasma hominis, a facultative human pathogen of the human genital tract, OppA, the substrate-binding domain of the oligopeptide permease, is a multifunctional protein involved in nutrition uptake, cytoadhesion and hydrolysis of extracellular ATP. RESULTS: To map the function-related protein regions the ATPase activity and adhesive behavior of OppA mutants were analyzed. Mutations of the Walker BA motifs resulted in an inhibition of up to 8% of the OppA ATPase activity, whereas deletion of the N-terminal CS1 or the CS2 region, structural motifs that are conserved in bacterial OppA proteins, reduced ATPase activity to 60% and deletion of CS3, the third conserved region adjacent to the Walker B motif led to a reduction to 42% ATPase activity. Interestingly, adhesion of the OppA mutants to immobilized HeLa cells demonstrated that two distal regions are mainly involved in adherence of OppA: the CS1 region, deletion of which led to 35% of the cytoadhesion, and the Walker BA with the adjacent upstream region CS3, deletion of which led to 25% of the cytoadhesion. The influence of the ATPase activity on the adherence of M. hominis to HeLa cells was confirmed by the use of ATPase inhibitors which reduced mycoplasmal cytoadhesion to 50%. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the OppA-mediated cytoadherence of Mycoplasma hominis depends on both, the topology of the neighbouring CS1 and ATPase domain regions and the functionality of the ecto-ATPase activity in addition.