Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33045031›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

Sequence variation and immunogenicity of the Mycoplasma genitalium MgpB and MgpC adherence proteins during persistent infection of men with non-gonococcal urethritis.

Gwendolyn E Wood, Stefanie L Iverson-Cabral, Catherine W Gillespie, M Sylvan Lowens, Lisa E Manhart, Patricia A Totten

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Novel features ofMicrobial genomics · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Detection of human IgG antibodies againstJournal of clinical microbiology · 2025
    Article
  5. Mycoplasma genitalium in the US (MyGeniUS): Surveillance Data From Sexual Health Clinics in 4 US Regions.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2023
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Genotyping ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2023
    Article
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Molecular Tools for TypingFrontiers in microbiology · 2022
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Gwendolyn E WoodDepartment of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-5109-3794
Stefanie L Iverson-CabralDepartment of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Catherine W GillespieInstitute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
M Sylvan LowensPublic Health - Seattle & King County Sexual Health Clinic, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Lisa E ManhartDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Patricia A TottenDepartment of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
University of Washington · USPublic Health – Seattle & King County · US

Funding

University of Washington STI-TM Cooperative Research CtrU19AI031448 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI HOLMES, KING K. · 1995 to 2010
$15.2M
Ureaplasmas in acute and persistent urethritis: clinical implicationsR01AI072728 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI MANHART, LISA E · 2007 to 2010
$1.4M
Mycoplasma genitalium variation in longitudinally infected menR21AI107402 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI TOTTEN, PATRICIA A · 2013 to 2014
$411k
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI072728NIAID NIH HHS R21 AI107402NIAID NIH HHS U19 AI031448
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mycoplasma genitalium is a sexually transmitted bacterial pathogen that infects men and women. Antigenic variation of MgpB and MgpC, the immunodominant adherence proteins of M. genitalium, is thought to contribute to immune evasion and chronic infection. We investigated the evolution of mgpB and mgpC sequences in men with non-gonococcal urethritis persistently infected with M. genitalium, including two men with anti-M. genitalium antibodies at enrollment and two that developed antibodies during follow-up. Each of the four patients was persistently infected with a different strain type and each patient produced antibodies targeting MgpB and MgpC. Amino acid sequence evolution in the variable regions of MgpB and MgpC occurred in all four patients with changes observed in single and multiple variable regions over time. Using the available crystal structure of MgpC of the G37 type strain we found that predicted conformational B cell epitopes localize predominantly to the variable region of MgpC, amino acids that changed during patient infection lie in these epitopes, and variant amino acids are in close proximity to the conserved sialic acid binding pocket. These findings support the hypothesis that sequence variation functions to avoid specific antibodies thereby contributing to persistence in the genital tract.

Indexed as

Adhesins, BacterialAmino Acid SequenceAnimalsAntibodies, Anti-IdiotypicB-LymphocytesChlorocebus aethiopsDoxycyclineEvolution, MolecularHumansMycoplasma genitaliumMycoplasma InfectionsPolymerase Chain ReactionUrethritisVero CellsAdhesins, BacterialAntibodies, Anti-IdiotypicDoxycycline

Identifiers

PMID33045031
PMCPMC7549776
OpenAlexW3092190040

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.