Molecular detection of urogenital mollicutes in patients with invasive malignant prostate tumor

Osama Mohammed Saed Abdul-Wahab (1) , Mishari H. Al-Shyarba (1) , Boutheina Ben Abdelmoumen Mardassi (2, 3) , Nessrine Sassi (2, 3) , Majed Saad Shaya Al Fayi (1) , Hassan Otifi (1) , Abdullah Hassan Al Murea (4) , Béhija Mlik (2, 3) , Elhem Yacoub (2, 3)

1 King Khalid University [Abha]
2 LR11IPT01 - Laboratoire de Microbiologie Moléculaire, Vaccinologie et Développement Biotechnologique
3 UTM - Université de Tunis El Manar
4 Aseer Central Hospital [Abha, Saudi Arabia]

Background The etiology of prostate cancer (PCa) is multiple and complex. Among the causes recently cited are chronic infections engendered by microorganisms that often go unnoticed. A typical illustration of such a case is infection due to mollicutes bacteria. Generally known by their lurking nature, urogenital mollicutes are the most incriminated in PCa. This study was thus carried out in an attempt to establish the presence of these mollicutes by PCR in biopsies of confirmed PCa patients and to evaluate their prevalence. Methods A total of 105 Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded prostate tissues collected from 50 patients suffering from PCa and 55 with benign prostate hyperplasia were subjected to PCR amplification targeting species-specific genes of 5 urogenital mollicutes species, Mycoplasma genitalium, M. hominis, M. fermentans, Ureaplasma parvum, and U. urealyticum. PCR products were then sequenced to confirm species identification. Results significance was statistically assessed using Chi-square and Odds ratio tests. Results PCR amplification showed no positive results for M. genitalium, M. hominis, and M. fermentans in all tested patients. Strikingly, Ureaplasma spp. were detected among 30% (15/50) of PCa patients. Nucleotide sequencing further confirmed the identified ureaplasma species, which were distributed as follows: 7 individuals with only U. parvum, 5 with only U. urealyticum, and 3 co-infection cases. Association of the two ureaplasma species with PCa cases proved statistically significant (P < 0.05), and found to represent a risk factor. Of note, Ureaplasma spp. were mostly identified in patients aged 60 and above with prostatic specific antigen (PSA) level > 4 ng/ml and an invasive malignant prostate tumor (Gleason score 8–10). Conclusions This study uncovered a significant association of Ureaplasma spp. with PCa arguing in favour of their potential involvement in this condition. Yet, this finding, though statistically supported, warrants a thorough investigation at a much larger scale.

Mots clés: Prostate cancer; Urogenital mollicutes; PCR; Sequencing

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Osama Mohammed Saed Abdul-Wahab, Mishari H. Al-Shyarba, Boutheina Ben Abdelmoumen Mardassi, Nessrine Sassi, Majed Saad Shaya Al Fayi, et al.. Molecular detection of urogenital mollicutes in patients with invasive malignant prostate tumor. Infectious Agents and Cancer, 2021, 16 (1), pp.6. ⟨10.1186/s13027-021-00344-9⟩. ⟨pasteur-03550441⟩