Diversity of vaginal microbiome and metabolome during genital infections

Ceccarani, Camilla; Foschi, Claudio; Parolin, Carola; D’Antuono, Antonietta; Gaspari, Valeria; Consolandi, Clarissa; Laghi, Luca; Camboni, Tania; Vitali, Beatrice; Severgnini, Marco; Marangoni, Antonella

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-50410-x

Cited by 238 publications

(353 citation statements)

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“…Several studies have suggested vaginal dysbiosis during VVC, with reduced Lactobacillus colonization rates or patterns [109,[115][116][117]. Although Lactobacillus remained dominant at the genus level, reduced rates (<67.5%) and altered species (L. crispatus progressively replaced by L. iners) were found during disease states [109,113]. The vaginal microbiome of VVC patients following antifungal treatment were also distinct, demonstrating similarities to both healthy and dysbiotic microbiomes, which might represent a transition between these states [116].…”

Section: A Role For the Microbiome?mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…A balanced and healthy vaginal microbiome is considered to be important for maintaining female health, further influencing the health of their sexual partners and newborns, as well as the success of pregnancy and delivery [108]. Alteration in vaginal microbiome is a significant risk factor for developing diseases of the FRT, including Candida vaginitis [109]. Comprehensive studies on healthy human vaginal microbiome have identified Lactobacillus spp.…”

Section: A Role For the Microbiome?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…colonization. Interestingly, the vaginal microbiomes of women suffering from VVC, Chlamydia trachomatis, or bacterial vaginosis exhibit distinct profiles that further differ from those of otherwise healthy women [109]. Several studies have suggested vaginal dysbiosis during VVC, with reduced Lactobacillus colonization rates or patterns [109,[115][116][117].…”

Section: A Role For the Microbiome?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, the vaginal microbiomes of women suffering from VVC, Chlamydia trachomatis, or bacterial vaginosis exhibit distinct profiles that further differ from those of otherwise healthy women [109]. Several studies have suggested vaginal dysbiosis during VVC, with reduced Lactobacillus colonization rates or patterns [109,[115][116][117]. Although Lactobacillus remained dominant at the genus level, reduced rates (<67.5%) and altered species (L. crispatus progressively replaced by L. iners) were found during disease states [109,113].…”

Section: A Role For the Microbiome?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: A Current Understanding and Burning Questions

Willems

Ahmed

Liu

et al. 2020

JoF

201

197

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Candida albicans, along with other closely related Candida species, are the primary causative agents of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC)-a multifactorial infectious disease of the lower female reproductive tract resulting in pathologic inflammation. Unlike other forms of candidiasis, VVC is a disease of immunocompetent and otherwise healthy women, most predominant during their child-bearing years. While VVC is non-lethal, its high global incidence and profound negative impact on quality-of-life necessitates further understanding of the host and fungal factors that drive disease pathogenesis. In this review, we cover the current state of our understanding of the epidemiology, host response, fungal pathogenicity mechanisms, impact of the microbiome, and novel approaches to treatment of this most prevalent human candidal infection. We also offer insight into the latest advancements in the VVC field and identify important questions that still remain.

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Section: A Role For the Microbiome?mentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: A Role For the Microbiome?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Role For the Microbiome?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Role For the Microbiome?mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: A Current Understanding and Burning Questions

Willems

Ahmed

Liu

et al. 2020

JoF

201

197

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“…The conversion of glucose and lactate to acetate and succinate by L. jensenii compared to L. crispatus , suggests that this may be an important pathomechanism of dysbiosis, altered vaginal pH, infection and infection-associated spontaneous preterm birth. Elevated amounts of acetate and succinate in the vaginal space is associated with increased pH and risk of infection such as bacterial vaginosis (Aldunate et al ., 2015; Ceccarani et al ., 2019), a known risk factor of preterm birth and other poor reproductive outcomes (Amabebe and Anumba, 2018). Vaginal bacterial communities dominated by L. jensenii usually have higher pH compared to when L. crispatus predominates (Aldunate et al ., 2015).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential vaginalLactobacillusspecies metabolism of glucose, L and D-lactate by¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Amabebe

Anumba

Reynolds

2020

Preprint

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12Sheffield, Royal Hallamshire hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield S10 2JF, UK. +44 114 215 9596, 13 steven.reynolds@sheffield.ac.uk 14 15 Acknowledgements: 16We are grateful to the University of Sheffield, UK, for providing support and the 9.4T MRS spectrometer with Abstract 28 Introduction 29 Cervicovaginal dysbiosis can lead to infection-associated spontaneous preterm birth.30 Objective 31 To determine whether vaginal Lactobacillus species, L. crispatus and L. jensenii, differentially metabolise glucose, 32 L-and/or D-lactate to propagate their survival/dominance.33 Methods 34Bacteria were incubated anaerobically for 24h at 37°C, with 13 Cu-glucose, 13 C3-D-lactate or 13 C3-L-lactate 35 (singularly or combined) for 24h. 13 C-spectra were acquired using a 9.4T NMR spectrometer. 36 Results 37L. crispatus and L. jensenii (n=6 each) metabolised 13 C-glucose to 13 C-lactate and 13 C-acetate. L. jensenii 38 converted more 13 C3-D-or 13 C3-L-lactate to 13 C-acetate than L. crispatus, p<0.001. 39 Conclusion 40Conversion of glucose and lactate to acetate by L. jensenii compared to L. crispatus, suggests a possibly important 41 pathomechanism of dysbiosis and infection-associated spontaneous preterm birth. 42In conjunction with the host vaginal habitat, the vaginal bacteria produce unique metabolic by-products. In a 55 healthy vagina, lactobacilli are the predominant species and have been linked to increased likelihood of term 56 delivery (Amabebe and Anumba, 2018; Stafford et al., 2017). The four major vaginal lactobacilli (L. crispatus, L. 57 jensenii, L. iners and L. gasseri) differentially produce L-and D-lactic acid that lowers the pH of the 58 cervicovaginal space, creating unfavourable conditions for other invading species. D-lactic acid is believed to be 59 more potent than L-lactic acid in relation to protection against colonisation by potentially pathogenic organisms 60 within the vagina and the accompanying inflammatory response (Witkin et al., 2013). Anaerobes are also 61 endogenous to the vagina and are associated with infection and preterm birth (PTB, i.e. delivery <37 weeks of 62 gestation) especially when lactobacilli are deficient (Amabebe and Anumba, 2018). 63Metabolism by cells can be tracked by 13 C-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to examine specific pathways 64 (Buescher et al., 2015). The use of 13 C labelled substrates means that they are metabolised identically to those 65 found naturally, with the cell viability maintained throughout the experiment. Additionally, strategic placement 66 of the 13 C label (Buescher et al., 2015) allows the activity of single or multiple metabolic pathways to be identified, 67 even if the end product is the same (Bruntz et al., 2017). 68Although, lactobacilli are known to thrive in the acidic condition of the vagina (pH < 4.5), the mechanism 69 underpinning how lactobacilli, and other anaerobes, interact with lactic acid remains unresolved (Amabebe and 70 Anumba, 2018). In this short communication, we report on the use of 13 C-NMR to examine how different 71 Lactob...

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Alterations in vaginal microbiota among pregnant women with COVID‐19

Çelik

Özcan

Vatansever

et al. 2022

Journal of Medical Virology

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Background: The maintenance of vaginal microbiota is an important factor to achieve ideal pregnancy outcomes. Coronavirus disease has been shown to have potential adverse effects on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Pregnancy itself is a risk factor for the severity of COVID-19, with an increased risk of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, maternal morbidity, and mortality. the role of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in vaginal microbiome composition in pregnant women with COVID-19 has not yet been investigated. Therefore, we anticipate that COVID-19 may unfavorably affect the composition of the vaginal microbiota, resulting in adverse pregnancy outcomes. We aimed to describe the alterations of the composition of vaginal microbiota in pregnant women with COVID-19.Results: A prospective case-control study was conducted among 19 pregnant women with COVID-19 and 28 healthy controls matched according to the gestational week and age. The vaginal swabs were collected during the active phase of infection and consecutively, within a month after recovering from infection. In three patients, longitudinal samples before, in the course, and after infection were also obtained. The microbiome alterations were examined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We indicated that COVID-19 was associated with vaginal dysbiosis during pregnancy, which was indicated by an increased alpha diversity index. There was a signi cantly decrease in Firmicutes (P=0.007) and Lactobacillus (P=0.019) with an increase in Bacteroidetes (P=0.024) in the COVID-19 group. In the moderate/severe group, increased amounts of Ureaplasma and vanishing of Lactobacillus gasseri were found in women, compared to the asymptomatic or mild group (P=0.001). In longitudinal analysis, elevation of Actinobacteria with reduction of Firmicutes and Bacteroides were indicated during the active phase. Conclusions: The study revealed vaginal dysbiosis with a low abundance of Lactobacillus and an increase in Bacteroidetes in relation to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Vaginal dysbiosis in COVID-19 could be a contributing factor in pregnancy adverse outcomes. Trial registration: clinicaltrials, Registered 15

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Diversity of vaginal microbiome and metabolome during genital infections

Cited by 238 publications

References 48 publications

Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: A Current Understanding and Burning Questions

Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: A Current Understanding and Burning Questions

Differential vaginalLactobacillusspecies metabolism of glucose, L and D-lactate by¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Alterations in vaginal microbiota among pregnant women with COVID‐19

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Diversity of vaginal microbiome and metabolome during genital infections

Cited by 238 publications

References 48 publications

Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: A Current Understanding and Burning Questions

Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: A Current Understanding and Burning Questions

Differential vaginalLactobacillusspecies metabolism of glucose, L and D-lactate by13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Alterations in vaginal microbiota among pregnant women with COVID‐19

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Differential vaginalLactobacillusspecies metabolism of glucose, L and D-lactate by¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy