Background: Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the agent of the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection worldwide. Until now, little information is available about the microbial composition of urine samples during CT urethritis. Therefore, in this study, we characterized the microbiome and metabolome profiles of first-void urines in a cohort of women with CT urethral infection attending an STI clinic.
Methods: Based on CT positivity by nucleic acid amplification techniques on urine samples, the enrolled women were divided into two groups, i.e., "CT-negative" (n = 21) and "CT-positive" (n = 11). Urine samples were employed for (i) the microbiome profile analysis by means of 16s rRNA gene sequencing and (ii) the metabolome analysis by 1H-NMR.
Results: Irrespective of CT infection, the microbiome of first-void urines was mainly dominated by Lactobacillus, L. iners and L. crispatus being the most represented species. CT-positive samples were characterized by reduced microbial biodiversity compared to the controls. Moreover, a significant reduction of the Mycoplasmataceae family-in particular, of the Ureaplasma parvum species-was observed during CT infection. The Chlamydia genus was positively correlated with urine hippurate and lactulose.
Conclusions: These data can help elucidate the pathogenesis of chlamydial urogenital infections, as well as to set up innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
Keywords: Chlamydia trachomatis; metabolome; microbiome; urethritis; urine; urobiome.