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

  • Protozoology - Short Communication
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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank Dr. Giuseppe Delogu for excellent technical assistance

Funding

This work was supported by Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, PRIN 2017 grant number 2017SFBFER_004.

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Author notes

  1. Valentina Margarita and Alessandra Marongiu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale S. Pietro 43/B, 07100, Sassari, Italy

    Valentina Margarita, Alessandra Marongiu, Nicia Diaz, Daniele Dessì, Pier Luigi Fiori & Paola Rappelli

  2. Mediterranean Center for Disease Control (MCDC), Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy

    Daniele Dessì, Pier Luigi Fiori & Paola Rappelli

Authors
  1. Valentina Margarita
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  2. Alessandra Marongiu
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  3. Nicia Diaz
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  4. Daniele Dessì
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  5. Pier Luigi Fiori
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  6. Paola Rappelli
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Correspondence to Pier Luigi Fiori.

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Margarita, V., Marongiu, A., Diaz, N. et al. Prevalence of double-stranded RNA virus in Trichomonas vaginalis isolated in Italy and association with the symbiont Mycoplasma hominis. Parasitol Res 118, 3565–3570 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06469-6

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