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Mycoplasmas                                                                                                                                                                                               

A genus of bacteria which lack a cell wall. Without a cell wall, they are unaffected by many common antibiotics such as aspenicillin or other beta-lactam antibiotics that target cell wall synthesis. They can be parasitic or saprotrophic (feeds by absorbing dead or decaying organic matter). Several species are pathogenic in humans

Mycoplasmas are a specific and unique species of bacteria with their pliable membrane, they can take on many different shapes which make them difficult to identify, even under a high powered electron microscope. Mycoplasmas can also be very hard to culture in the laboratory and are often missed as pathogenic causes of diseases for this reason.

 

Mycoplasma pneumonia is not the only species that causes disease in humans, however it is an example of a stealth pathogen which can move out of it's typical environment into other parts of the body. In the respiratory tract and lungs, Mycoplasma pneumonia is a cause of pneumonia and other airway disorders, such as:

 Mycoplasmas are highly adaptable to changing environments and can move anywhere in the body, attaching to or invading virtually any type of cell in the body their adhesion proteins are very similar to human proteins. Once adhered to the host cell, the mycoplasma can completely mimic or copy the protein cell of the host cell. This can cause the immune system to begin attacking the body's own cells (an event that occurs in autoimmune diseases).

Certain Mycoplasma species can either activate or suppress host immune systems, and they use these abilities to evade host immune responses. They can turn on the chain reaction known as an immune system response. This includes the stimulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (chemical messengers of the immune system) which is generally found in most autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and disorders.

 

Mycoplasmas can also invade and live inside host cells which evade the immune system, especially white blood cells. Once inside a white blood cell, mycoplasmas can travel throughout the body and even cross the blood - brain barrier into the central nervous system and spinal fluid.

 

Mycoplasmas, unlike viruses, can grow in tissue fluids (blood, joint, heart, chest and spinal fluids) also they can grow inside any living tissue cell without killing the cells, as most normal bacteria and viruses will do.

 

They are frequently found in the oral and genito-urinary tracts of normal healthy people and are found to infect females four times more often than males, the same incidence rate to be found in:

 

Mycoplasma are able to attach to or invade immune system cells, like the very phagocytes (natural killer cells) that are supposed to kill them.  When a mycoplasma attaches to a host cell, it generates and releases hydrogen peroxide and superoxide radicals which cause oxidative stress and damage to the surrounding tissues.

 

 

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  2. Baseman, Joel, et.al., Mycoplasmas: Sophisticated, Reemerging, and Burdened by Their Notoriety, CDC, Journal of Infectious Diseases, Vol 3, No.1, Feb 1997.
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  5. Dr.Harold Clark, The Intercessor, June 1993, The Road Back Foundation, Delaware OH.
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  8. Bencina D, et.al., Intrathecal synthesis of specific antibodies in patients with invasion of the central nervous system by Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2000 Jul;19(7):521-30  
  9. Krause DC, Taylor-Robinson D. Mycoplasmas which infect humans. In: Maniloff J, McElhaney RN, Finch LR, Baseman JB, editors. Mycoplasmas: molecular biology and pathogenesis. Washington (DC): American Society for Microbiology, 1992:417-44.
  10. Murray HW, Masur H, Senterfit LB, Roberts RB. The protean manifestations of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in adults. Am J Med 1975;58:229-42.
  11. Baseman, Joel, et.al., Mycoplasmas: Sophisticated, Reemerging, and Burdened by Their Notoriety. CDC, Journal of Infectious Diseases, Vol 3, No.1, Feb 1997  
  12. Hawkins, et.al., Association of mycoplasma and human immunodeficiency virus infection: detection of amplified mycoplasma fermentans DNA in blood. J.Infec.Dis. 1992: 165:581-585

 

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