Interactions of Mycoplasma genitalium (Mg) and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections among couples

Mycoplasma genitalium is a sexually transmitted pathogen infecting the uterine cervix and causing pelvic inflammatory disease in women. Persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infections are important etiological agents in cervical and oral carcinogenesis. The potential interactions between M. genitalium- and HPV infections are incompletely studied. This study included 329 women and 135 of their male partners in the prospective Finnish Family HPV study, followed up for three years. Genital and oral scrapings and blood samples were collected at baseline and 12-, 24-, and 36-month follow-up visits. HPV-L1 IgG-antibodies to HPV6/11/16/18/45 and M. genitalium IgG-antibodies to MgPa N-term and rMgPa were assayed by multiplex serology, and HPV genotyping was performed by Multiplex Genotyping. Statistical analyses were conducted using the χ2-test, likelihood ratio, or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables, and nonparametric tests for continuous variables. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using the logistic regression models. Persistent oral or genital HPV infections did not show any associations with the M. genitalium antibody levels. Incident oral HPV infections were significantly increased among women with high-levels of MgPa N-term antibodies, OR 4.14 (95%CI 1.10–15.52). M. genitalium antibodies were associated with an increased likelihood of seropositivity to HR-HPV during the follow-up, OR range from 2.66 to 4.62 (with 95%CI range of 1.01–11.00). M. genitalium serology seems to be unrelated to outcomes of genital HPV infections but might increase the incidence of oral HPV infections and the likelihood of HPV seropositivity among women.