{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T16:54:14Z","timestamp":1785430454655,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,3]],"date-time":"2026-05-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777766400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Special Account for Research Grants, University of Thessaly, Greece","award":["5600.0218"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["5600.0218"]}]},{"award":["5600.0218"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["5600.0218"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04v4g9h31","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: The microbiome plays a pivotal role in male infertility, with distinct microbial species exerting both beneficial and deleterious effects on reproductive function. Sexually transmitted bacteria and several viruses, including human papillomavirus (HPV), have been identified in semen. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the prevalence of single and co-infections of sexually transmitted bacteria (STB)\u2014such as Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma spp., and Ureaplasma spp.\u2014with various HPV subtypes in Greek male partners of infertile couples and to evaluate their potential impact on sperm parameters. In addition, the possible effect of cryopreservation on the maintenance of these pathogens was assessed. Materials and Methods: Eighty-two semen samples were initially collected from 82 individuals undergoing routine sperm analysis. In total, 80\/82 (97.6%) participants proceeded to further analysis, as 2\/82 (2.4%) were excluded due to poor DNA quality. Results: A total of 18\/80 (22.5%) sperm samples tested positive for STB, with Ureaplasma spp. representing the most frequently detected pathogen. Co-infection of Ureaplasma spp. and Mycoplasma hominis was observed in 4\/80 (5%) samples. Twelve samples (12\/80, 15%) were positive for HPV, including low-risk (LR) and high-risk (HR) types, and HPV 16 was the predominant HR genotype. Notably, a co-infection of STB and HPV was not found in our specimens. STB-positive samples demonstrated significantly higher sperm concentration and improved progressive motility compared with STB-negative samples. HPV-positive samples exhibited lower sperm volume and concentration and increased non-progressive motility compared with HPV-negative samples. Following three months of cryopreservation, LR HPV and STB were no longer detectable, whereas HR HPV types remained detectable. Conclusions: These preliminary findings are interesting, as they could be useful for routine screening of HPV and STB in sperm samples preserved in sperm banks and highlight the need for future research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina62050874","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T02:06:21Z","timestamp":1777860381000},"page":"874","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Influence of Sexually Transmitted Bacteria and Human Papillomavirus on Sperm Parameters: Data from a Preliminary Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"62","author":[{"given":"Maria","family":"Samara","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41100 Larisa, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eleni","family":"Thodou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41100 Larisa, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0909-2365","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christina","family":"Messini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41100 Larisa, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-3333-2620","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Efthalia","family":"Moustakli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 4th Kilometer National Highway Str. Ioannina-Athens, 45500 Ioannina, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Anagnostou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41100 Larisa, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-9553-6803","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Athanasios","family":"Zikopoulos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Treliske Truro, Foundation Trust U.K., Truno TR1 3LJ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexandros","family":"Daponte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41100 Larisa, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0308-5703","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioannis","family":"Georgiou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Medical Genetics in Clinical Practice, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Anifandis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41100 Larisa, Greece"},{"name":"Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41100 Larisa, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"881","DOI":"10.2471\/BLT.10.011210","article-title":"Mother or nothing: The agony of infertility","volume":"88","author":"Cui","year":"2010","journal-title":"Bull. 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