Lower Genital Tract Microbiome in Early Pregnancy in the Eastern European Population

Abstract

Background: It is known that the features of the cervicovaginal microbiome can depend on ethnicity, which might be caused by genetic factors, as well as differences in diet and lifestyle. There is no research on the cervicovaginal microbiome of Eastern European women during early pregnancy. Methods: We evaluated the cervical and cervicovaginal microbiome of women with first-trimester pregnancy (n = 22), further delivered at term, using the 16S rRNA sequencing method. Results: The predominant bacterial species in both groups was Lactobacillus iners, followed by Prevotella copri, Ileibacterium valens, Gardnerella vaginalis and Muribaculum intestinale in the cervical samples, and Gardnerella vaginalis, Prevotella copri, Bifidobacterium longum, Ileibacterium valens and Muribaculum intestinale in the cervicovaginal samples. The cervical microbiome had higher alpha diversity; a higher abundance of Muribaculum intestinale, Aquabacterium parvum and Methyloversatilis universalis; and a lower abundance of Psychrobacillus psychrodurans. Conclusions: The Lactobacillus iners-dominated microbiome (CST III) was the predominant type of cervical and cervicovaginal microbiome in early pregnancy in the majority of the women. The presence of soil and animal bacteria in the cervicovaginal microbiome can be explained by the rural origin of patients.

Vaginal microbiota molecular profiling and diagnostic performance of artificial intelligence-assisted multiplex PCR testing in women with bacterial vaginosis: a single-center experience

“…Similar to previous reports (Gryaznova et al, 2022;Rak et al, 2022;Roachford et al, 2022), the detection rates and/or abundance of G. vaginalis, P. bivia, A. vaginae, BVAB2, Megasphaera 2 (not Megasphaera 1), and M. hominis changed significantly during the transition from the healthy state to the diseased state. These results may indicate a high abundance of G. vaginalis and P. bivia in the FLGT and suggest that these two bacteria act as early colonizers, whereas A. vaginae and other BV-associated bacteria are secondary colonizers, and that these early colonizers may evade the immune system while forming a bacterial vaginosis biofilm (Muzny et al, 2019;Randis and Ratner, 2019;Muzny et al, 2020).…”

Cervical and Vaginal Microbiomes in Early Miscarriages and Ongoing Pregnancy with and without Dydrogesterone Usage

“…As stated before, L. iners was found to be the predominant bacteria during the first trimester of normal pregnancy in eastern European, Chinese, Caribbean, and United States populations [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], and second after L. crispatus in British and Canadian populations [ 14 , 15 ]. According to large research studies, there are no changes in the CSTs across trimesters of pregnancy [ 11 , 14 ].…”

“…Differences in microbiome composition persist during a normal early pregnancy. Thus, in Chinese, eastern European, Caribbean, and United States populations, the predominant microorganism during the first trimester of pregnancy is Lactobacillus iners [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], which corresponds to the community state type III (CST III) microbiome according to the classification by France et al (2020) [ 13 ]. In Canadian and British populations, the predominant microorganism of the lower genital tract in early pregnancy is L. crispatus , which corresponds to CST I [ 14 , 15 ].…”

Identification of the intestinal microbes associated with muscle strength

“…E. massiliensis is a Gram-negative, obligate anaerobic bacterium that was isolated from the stool of an overweight person [47]. Notably, the two bacteria that had a negative effect on muscle strength, I. valens and E. harbinense, were found in lean individuals [48,49]. This nding of bacteria positively associated with muscle strength in overweight individuals and vice versa in lean individuals seems to align well with human physiology.…”