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The bacterial microbiota in first-void urine from men with and without idiopathic urethritis

Frølund, Maria ; Wikström, Arne ; Lidbrink, Peter ; Abu Al-Soud, Waleed LU ; Larsen, Niels ; Harder, Christoffer Bugge LU ; Sørensen, Søren Johannes ; Jensen, Jørgen Skov and Ahrens, Peter (2018) In PLoS ONE 13(7). p.0201380-0201380
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) is a common syndrome in men. NGU may have several causes, but many cases are caused by sexually transmitted infections that may also cause complications in their female partners. Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium are the most common causes of NGU, but in up to 35% of the cases, none of the known viral or bacterial causes are found. Traditionally, pathogens have been detected using various culture techniques that may not identify all species present in the urethra. To address this, we used culture-independent methods for analysis of the male urethral microbiota.

METHODS: This case-control study analysed first void urine samples, collected at STD clinics in Stockholm, Sweden... (More)

BACKGROUND: Non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) is a common syndrome in men. NGU may have several causes, but many cases are caused by sexually transmitted infections that may also cause complications in their female partners. Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium are the most common causes of NGU, but in up to 35% of the cases, none of the known viral or bacterial causes are found. Traditionally, pathogens have been detected using various culture techniques that may not identify all species present in the urethra. To address this, we used culture-independent methods for analysis of the male urethral microbiota.

METHODS: This case-control study analysed first void urine samples, collected at STD clinics in Stockholm, Sweden from men with idiopathic urethritis (IU), i.e. negative for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Trichomonas vaginalis, adenovirus, and herpes simplex virus type 1 and -2 together with samples from men without urethritis. Forty-six controls and 39 idiopathic urethritis patients were analysed.

RESULTS: The microbiota was highly diverse: None of the 302 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) found in negative controls and IU patients were found in all of the samples or even in all of the samples in one group. More than 50% of the OTUs were only found in one or two of the total of 85 samples. Still the most dominant 1/6 of the genera constituted 79% of the sequences. Hierarchical clustering in a heatmap showed no specific clustering of patients or controls. A number of IU patient samples were dominated by a single genus previously related to urethritis (Gardnerella, Haemophilus, Ureaplasma).

CONCLUSION: The male urethra contain a very diverse composition of bacteria, even in healthy controls. NGU may be caused by a number of different bacteria but more studies including a higher number of samples are needed for elucidation of the role of each species.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Adenoviridae/classification, Adult, Gram-Negative Bacteria/classification, Herpesvirus 1, Human/genetics, Herpesvirus 2, Human/genetics, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Urethra/microbiology, Urethritis/microbiology, Urine/microbiology
in
PLoS ONE
volume
13
issue
7
pages
19 pages
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:30052651
  • scopus:85051694077
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0201380
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
38ec8950-6831-4d04-bcd9-d027c2d6c9be
date added to LUP
2020-09-09 11:13:59
date last changed
2024-03-05 10:42:28
@article{38ec8950-6831-4d04-bcd9-d027c2d6c9be,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: Non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) is a common syndrome in men. NGU may have several causes, but many cases are caused by sexually transmitted infections that may also cause complications in their female partners. Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium are the most common causes of NGU, but in up to 35% of the cases, none of the known viral or bacterial causes are found. Traditionally, pathogens have been detected using various culture techniques that may not identify all species present in the urethra. To address this, we used culture-independent methods for analysis of the male urethral microbiota.</p><p>METHODS: This case-control study analysed first void urine samples, collected at STD clinics in Stockholm, Sweden from men with idiopathic urethritis (IU), i.e. negative for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Trichomonas vaginalis, adenovirus, and herpes simplex virus type 1 and -2 together with samples from men without urethritis. Forty-six controls and 39 idiopathic urethritis patients were analysed.</p><p>RESULTS: The microbiota was highly diverse: None of the 302 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) found in negative controls and IU patients were found in all of the samples or even in all of the samples in one group. More than 50% of the OTUs were only found in one or two of the total of 85 samples. Still the most dominant 1/6 of the genera constituted 79% of the sequences. Hierarchical clustering in a heatmap showed no specific clustering of patients or controls. A number of IU patient samples were dominated by a single genus previously related to urethritis (Gardnerella, Haemophilus, Ureaplasma).</p><p>CONCLUSION: The male urethra contain a very diverse composition of bacteria, even in healthy controls. NGU may be caused by a number of different bacteria but more studies including a higher number of samples are needed for elucidation of the role of each species.</p>}},
  author       = {{Frølund, Maria and Wikström, Arne and Lidbrink, Peter and Abu Al-Soud, Waleed and Larsen, Niels and Harder, Christoffer Bugge and Sørensen, Søren Johannes and Jensen, Jørgen Skov and Ahrens, Peter}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  keywords     = {{Adenoviridae/classification; Adult; Gram-Negative Bacteria/classification; Herpesvirus 1, Human/genetics; Herpesvirus 2, Human/genetics; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Urethra/microbiology; Urethritis/microbiology; Urine/microbiology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7}},
  pages        = {{0201380--0201380}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{The bacterial microbiota in first-void urine from men with and without idiopathic urethritis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201380}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0201380}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}