(Stephen Jordan https://bit.ly/3TGM0M5)
Not just us, when men have vaginal sex, the composition of the penile urethral microbiome changes significantly.
Moreover, if a woman has bacterial vaginosis, then the male urethra is colonized by bacteria characteristic of bacterial vaginosis.
The mucous membrane of the urethra of the penis is inhabited by bacterial communities, which, together with the immune mechanisms of the mucosa itself, protect it from pathogenic bacteria.
However, these communities are difficult to study.
Due to the great pain involved in collecting samples of the male urethral mucosa, this analysis is usually performed only on men with urethral diseases.
But some scientists find healthy volunteers who are willing to undergo such an examination.
So, in one of these studies, scientists found streptococci, lactobacilli and a wide range of anaerobic bacteria.
Further studies found a similar microbiome composition.
Two of them even found that changes in this microbiome correlated with changes in the vaginal microbiome if the partner of a healthy volunteer had bacterial vaginosis.
THE STUDY
Now, David E. Nelson from Indiana University has collected samples of the penile urethral mucosa from 110 healthy men and 24 vaginal mucosal samples.
The intention of the team was to better understand the bacterial population of the penile urethra and how it is affected by sexual behavior.
The mean age of the male participants was 28.7 years (+/-10.7), and 35% of them were black.
Seventy-five people (68%) identified themselves as heterosexual, 22 (20%) as homosexual, and 13 (12%) as bisexual or other.
Most of the participants were sexually active within the last year (108 out of 110).
In total, scientists found 117 different types of bacteria and 26 viruses in 110 healthy volunteers.
Among the bacteria, Streptococcus mitis, a lactic acid bacterium from the order Lactobacillales, was the most common, averaging 24.2% of the microbiome's mass.
In two samples of the urethral mucosa, scientists found adenovirus and alphapapilloma virus.
Cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus were found on the mucosa in two other samples, and human herpes virus type six was found in six samples.
THE MICROBIOME
The researchers then made a systemic comparison of the male urethral microbiome with the vaginal microbiomes of healthy women and women with bacterial vaginosis.
They found that although some men had bacterial communities characteristic of the vaginal microbial communities of healthy women and women with bacterial vaginosis, the overall composition of microbiomes in the male urethra and vagina were significantly different.
For example, almost no S. mitis was found in the vagina.
In addition to healthy vaginal microbiomes, scientists have found
- Gardnerella vaginalis
- Fannyhessea vaginae
- Prevotella amnii
- Streptococcus agalactiae
- Streptococcus anginosis in some men
All of them are bacteria found in bacterial vaginosis in women.
For example, the chances of finding G. vaginalis were higher in men who reported having vaginal sex in the past two months, in the past year, or at any time compared to men who had not had vaginal sex.
Also, in 14 men who had never had vaginal sex, scientists did not find the bacteria from the vaginal microbiome:
- A. vaginae
- P. amnii
- L. iners
- Streptococcus anginosus
- M. indolicus
- G. vaginalis
- V. montpellierensis
- S. amnii
At the same time, the number of bacteria of the vaginal community in the urethra in men decreased over time after the last vaginal sex.
When studying the dependence of the microbiome on the sexual behavior of men, scientists found that only vaginal sex significantly changed the microbiome of the male urethra.
Oral and anal sex did not significantly change the microbiome.
Scientists hope that the results of their work will contribute to further study of the microbiome of the urethra, whose composition determines resistance to sexually transmitted infections.
Sources:
- Cell Reports Medicine: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(23)00087-3
- SciTech Daily: https://scitechdaily.com/urethra-of-healthy-men-is-teeming-with-microbial-life-vaginal-sex-results-in-distinct-microbiome/
- Genomeweb: https://www.genomeweb.com/genetic-research/male-urethral-microbiome-can-harbor-bacteria-transmitted-through-vaginal-sex#.ZB8eO3bMLrc
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