Trial reportmBio2013
Male circumcision significantly reduces prevalence and load of genital anaerobic bacteria.
Trial report in mBio, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03412071 (Testing the Ability of a Microbiome - Focused Intervention to Reduce HIV Susceptibility in Ugandan Men), which is not on this map. Cited by 99 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Testing the Ability of a Microbiome - Focused Intervention to Reduce HIV Susceptibility in Ugandan Men
Who cites it
99 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 195 citations in OpenAlex.
- Critical evaluation of arguments opposing male circumcision: A systematic review.Journal of evidence-based medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Impact of antimicrobials on penile HIV susceptibility and immunology in uncircumcised men: A randomized phase 1/2 clinical trial.Cell reports. Medicine · 2024Trial
- Comparison of the penile microbiome in infant male circumcision: Mogen clamp versus Shangring.EBioMedicine · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Chemokine Levels in the Penile Coronal Sulcus Correlate with HIV-1 Acquisition and Are Reduced by Male Circumcision in Rakai, Uganda.PLoS pathogens · 2016Trial
- HIV shedding from male circumcision wounds in HIV-infected men: a prospective cohort study.PLoS medicine · 2015Trial
- The semen microbiome and its relationship with local immunology and viral load in HIV infection.PLoS pathogens · 2014Trial
- Male circumcision and Mycoplasma genitalium infection in female partners: a randomised trial in Rakai, Uganda.Sexually transmitted infections · 2014Trial
- Suspected Group A Streptococcal Urethritis Following Orogenital Exposure in a Young Adult Male.Cureus · 2026Article
- HIV Transmission and Immunology of the Male Reproductive Tract.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- CD11c+ myeloid cells are the predominant CD4+CCR5+ immune population in the foreskin and are increased in men with HIV-associated penile anaerobes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Anaerobe-Driven Inflammation and Epithelial Barrier Disruption in Genital HIV Acquisition.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- Pathological phimosis is associated with foreskin immune cell infiltration but not microbiota composition.mSphere · 2026Article
- Does the evidence support circumcision of infant males in the United Kingdom?-a systematic review.Translational andrology and urology · 2026Review
- Article
- Integrated analysis of extrachromosomal circular DNA and transcriptome reveals associations between microbial profiles and Immunoinflammatory markers in hypospadias.World journal of urology · 2026Article
- Microbial community structure and source contribution to the early neovaginal microbiota following penile inversion vaginoplasty.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Beyond cervicovaginal limitations: potential bidirectional interactions between HPV infection and mucosal microbiota from oral, anorectal and penile sites - a mini-review.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- The neovaginal microbiota, symptoms, and local immune correlates in transfeminine individuals with penile inversion vaginoplasty.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Penile microbiome in histopathologically confirmed lichen sclerosus: a comparative study of urethral and preputial swabs.World journal of urology · 2025Article
39 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
unlabelledMale circumcision reduces female-to-male HIV transmission. Hypothesized mechanisms for this protective effect include decreased HIV target cell recruitment and activation due to changes in the penis microbiome. We compared the coronal sulcus microbiota of men from a group of uncircumcised controls (n = 77) and from a circumcised intervention group (n = 79) at enrollment and year 1 follow-up in a randomized circumcision trial in Rakai, Uganda. We characterized microbiota using16S rRNA gene-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) and pyrosequencing, log response ratio (LRR), Bayesian classification, nonmetric multidimensional scaling (nMDS), and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PerMANOVA). At baseline, men in both study arms had comparable coronal sulcus microbiota; however, by year 1, circumcision decreased the total bacterial load and reduced microbiota biodiversity. Specifically, the prevalence and absolute abundance of 12 anaerobic bacterial taxa decreased significantly in the circumcised men. While aerobic bacterial taxa also increased postcircumcision, these gains were minor. The reduction in anaerobes may partly account for the effects of circumcision on reduced HIV acquisition. IMPORTANCE: The bacterial changes identified in this study may play an important role in the HIV risk reduction conferred by male circumcision. Decreasing the load of specific anaerobes could reduce HIV target cell recruitment to the foreskin. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the benefits of male circumcision could help to identify new intervention strategies for decreasing HIV transmission, applicable to populations with high HIV prevalence where male circumcision is culturally less acceptable.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.