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. 1983 Sep;41(3):1291–1295. doi: 10.1128/iai.41.3.1291-1295.1983

Beta-hemolytic activity of Trichomonas vaginalis correlates with virulence.

J N Krieger, M A Poisson, M F Rein
PMCID: PMC264638  PMID: 6604026

Abstract

The reasons that some women develop symptomatic trichomonal vaginitis, whereas many other infected women remain asymptomatic, are unclear, but it has been suggested that Trichomonas vaginalis strains vary in their intrinsic virulence. We describe beta-hemolytic activity in T. vaginalis which correlates with virulence in patients as well as in an animal model and in tissue culture. Fresh T. vaginalis isolates from four women with severe, symptomatic trichomoniasis had high-level (86.3 +/- 6.6%) hemolytic activity, whereas isolates from three completely asymptomatic women had low-level (45.3 +/- 8.4%) hemolytic activity (P less than 0.001). Hemolytic activity also correlated with the production of subcutaneous abscesses in mice (r = 0.74) and with destruction of CHO cell monolayers (r = 0.94). All of the 20 clinical isolates of T. vaginalis tested possessed hemolytic activity. The beta-hemolysin may be a virulence factor for T. vaginalis.

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Selected References

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