The vaginal microbiome is an emerging concern in prenatal health. Because the sampling process of vaginal microbiota may pose potential risks for pregnant women, the choice of sampling site should be carefully considered. However, whether the microbial diversity is different across various sampling sites has been controversial. In the present study, three repeated swabs were collected at the cervix (C), posterior fornix (P), and vaginal canal (V) from 34 Chinese women during different pregnancy stages, and vaginal species were determined using the Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA tag sequences. The identified microbiomes were classified into four community state types (CSTs): CST I (dominated by L. crispatus), CST II (dominated by L. gasseri), CST III (dominated by L. iners), and CST IV-A (characterized by a low abundance of Lactobacillus, but with proportions of various species previously shown to be associated with bacterial vaginosis). All individuals had consistent CST at the three sampling sites regardless of pregnancy stage and CST group. In addition, there was little heterogeneity across community structures within each individual, as determined by LEfSe, indicating high vaginal microbiome homogeneity at the three sampling sites. The present study also revealed different beta diversity during pregnancy stages. The vaginal microbiome variation among women during trimester T1 (9 ± 2.6 weeks) is larger than that of non-pregnant women and women from other trimesters, as demonstrated by the UniFrac distance (P < 0.05). In particular, the present study is the first one that demonstrates the notably difference of vaginal microbiome of postpartum women compare to women in gestation. These results will be useful for future studies of the vaginal microbiota during pregnancy.
This study assessed the growth trends and reference ranges of the ultrasound parameters, fetal abdominal subcutaneous tissue thickness (ASTT) and subscapular subcutaneous tissue thickness (SSTT), in the last two trimesters of normal pregnancy in a Chinese population. We recruited 744 healthy women with singleton pregnancies. The ASTT and SSTT were evaluated at different times between 21 and 36 weeks of gestation. The correlations between these parameters and fetal gestational weeks were assessed using linear regression analysis. Both ASTT and SSTT increased with gestation, and both parameters showed a strong correlation with gestation (ASTT vs. GA, R2 = 0.792; P<0.0001; SSTT vs. GA, R2 = 0.302; P<0.0001). Time-specific reference ranges, including 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles and means ± SD, were constructed for ASTT and SSTT. These results provide a preliminary reference range to evaluate whether fetal development and maternal metabolic health is normal or not in a Chinese population.
Figure 2Postnatal examination of the placenta demonstrating the discordant sizes of the donor (D) and recipient (R) cords. such a complication is rarely described in the literature. Monoamniotic and diamniotic-monochorionic placentas have different anastomotic patterns 6,7 . The higher incidence of arterio-arterial anastomoses in monoamniotic twin pregnancies leads to more balanced anastomotic patterns and predicts that TTTS will occur approximately five times less often. We suggest close monitoring with fortnightly scans for all monochorionic pregnancies to detect the onset of TTTS. The first signs of TTTS based on polyhydramnios and discordant bladder sizes are easy to diagnose and warrant further investigation in a referral center to decide on the most appropriate management (observation, invasive procedures such as photocoagulation of the anastomoses, selective feticide, labor induction or Cesarean section).
Vitamin D receptor ( VDR ) is involved in multiple immune-mediated disorders including oral lichen planus (OLP). This study investigated the association between VDR gene polymorphisms and the risk of OLP. In total, 177 OLP patients and 207 healthy participants were recruited from the Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University. Eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs: rs731236, rs739837, rs757343, rs2107301, rs2239185, rs7975232, rs11574129 and rs11568820) in the VDR gene were selected and genotyped. The results showed that OLP risk was increased in subjects with the rs2239185 TT genotype (Recessive model: adjusted OR = 2.68, 95% CI = 1.28-5.62, P = 0.009) and rs7975232 CC genotype (Recessive model: adjusted OR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.10-4.58, P = 0.026). Moreover, rs2239185 and rs7975232 ( P < 0.01) showed significant cumulative effects on OLP risk. .Haplotype analysis showed that the CC haplotype (rs2239185-rs7975232) was associated with an increased risk of OLP (OR =3.11, 95% CI = 1.42-6.83, P = 0.005), compared with the AC haplotype . In conclusion, the rs2239185 and rs7975232 variants of VDR may influence OLP susceptibility, and VDR gene polymorphisms may be candidate susceptibility regions for OLP in a Chinese Han population.
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