Mycoplasma
 Mycoplasmataceae are the tiniest free-
living organisms capable of self-
replication
 Lack peptidoglycan cell wall
 Their protective layer is a cell
membrane which is packed with sterols
 Can contort into broad ranges of shape
3 pathogenic species of Mycoplasma:
1. Mycoplasma pnuemoniae
2. Mycoplasma genitalium
3. Ureaplasma urealyticum
Mycoplasma pnuemoniae
 Causes mild, self-limited bronchitis and
pneumonia
 Number 1 cause of bacterial bronchitis
and pneumonia in teenagers and young
adults
 Transmission through respiratory route
(attaches to respiratory epithelial cells
with the help of protein P1)
 Chest xray reveals patchy infiltrates
 Most symptoms resolve in a week but
cough and infiltration may last up to 2
months
 For some unknown reasons, 7% of
patients infected can develop
Erythema multiform or Steven
Johnsons syndrome
Diagnostic Tests:
1. Cold Agglutinins
 patients can develop monoclonal IgM
antibodies directed at a common red
blood cell antigen called “I” antigen
 These antibodies bind to the red cells
and cause them to agglutinate at 4oC
 They develop by the first or second
week after the onset of illness and
slowly decline over a few months
2. Complement fixation test
 Patient’s serum is mixed with glycolipid
antigens prepared from Mycoplasma
 A fourfold rise in antibody titer
between acute and convalescent
samples is diagnostic of recent infection
3. Sputum culture
 Mycoplasmataceae can be grown on
artificial media (media must be rich in
cholesterol and contain nucleic acid)
 Mycoplasma will assume a “fried egg”
appearance on their colony
4. Mycoplasma DNA Probe
 Sputum samples are mixed with labeled
recombinant DNA sequence
homologous to that of the Mycoplasma
5. Mycoplasma DNA can be detected in
sputum samples by PCR
 URTI need not to be treated but if
walking pneumonia develops,
treatment will shorten the course and
severity of the illness
 Mainstay for treatment: Macrolides,
quinolones
Mycoplasma genitalium

 Believed to cause 15-20% of non-

gonococcal urethritis in men in the US
 Hard to diagnose (culture its difficult)
 Viable way of diagnosis infection is with
nucleic acid amplification test (NAATS)
more specifically PCR
 Fluoroquinolone moxifloxacin is
becoming the DOC (due to resistance to
first line drugs: doxycycline and
azithromycin)

Ureaplasma urealyticum

 Sometimes referred as T-strain

mycoplasma (produces tiny colonies
when cultured)
 Ureaplasma urealyticum is part of the
normal flora in 60% of healthy, sexually
active women and commonly infects
the lower urinary tract causing
urethritis
 This organism can be identified by its
ability to metabolize urea into ammonia
and carbon dioxide