{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T22:34:18Z","timestamp":1778798058631,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,29]],"date-time":"2025-01-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1738108800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,29]],"date-time":"2025-01-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1738108800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microbiome"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract\n<\/jats:title>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Background\n<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>Genital inflammation increases HIV susceptibility and is associated with the density of pro-inflammatory anaerobes in the vagina and coronal sulcus. The penile urethra is a critical site of HIV acquisition, although correlates of urethral HIV acquisition are largely unknown. While <jats:italic>Streptococcus mitis<\/jats:italic> is a consistent component of the urethral flora, the presence of <jats:italic>Gardnerella vaginalis<\/jats:italic> has been linked with prior penile-vaginal sex and urethral inflammation. Here, we use a flow cytometry-based bacterial assay to quantify urethral IgA and IgG that bind <jats:italic>G. vaginalis<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>S. mitis<\/jats:italic> in a cross-sectional cohort of 45 uncircumcised Ugandan men and to evaluate their association with the urethral microbiome and local soluble immune factors.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>Urethral antibodies binding both bacterial species were readily detectable, with <jats:italic>G. vaginalis<\/jats:italic> predominantly bound by IgA, and <jats:italic>S. mitis<\/jats:italic> equivalently by IgA and IgG. <jats:italic>Gardnerella vaginalis<\/jats:italic>-binding IgA was elevated in participants with detectable urethral <jats:italic>Gardnerella<\/jats:italic>, with the latter only present in participants who reported prior penile-vaginal sex. In contrast, detectable urethral <jats:italic>S. mitis<\/jats:italic> was not associated with sexual history or levels of <jats:italic>S. mitis-<\/jats:italic>binding IgA\/IgG. The time from the last penile-vaginal sex was inversely correlated with the urethral concentrations of total IgA, <jats:italic>G. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>-binding IgA, and chemokines IL-8 and MIP-1\u03b2; these inflammatory chemokines were independently associated with higher total IgA concentration, but not with <jats:italic>G. vaginalis-<\/jats:italic>binding IgA.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>This first description of microbe-binding antibodies in the penile urethra suggests that urethral colonization by <jats:italic>Gardnerella<\/jats:italic> after penile-vaginal sex specifically induces a <jats:italic>G. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>-binding IgA response. Prospective studies of the host-microbe relationship in the urethra may have implications for the development of vaccines\u00a0against sexually-transmitted bacteria.\n<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40168-024-02007-4","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,29]],"date-time":"2025-01-29T04:21:37Z","timestamp":1738124497000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Gardnerella vaginalis-binding IgA in the urethra of sexually experienced males"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Rachel","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"R. 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