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Structure of the phage virus.
Source publication
Bacteriophages are obligate intracellular viruses that parasitize bacteria, making use of the host biosynthetic machinery. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) causes serious adverse sequelae, such as sexually transmitted infections, seroconversion to HIV positivity, and preterm birth. The aetiology of BV is multifactorial, and the vaginal microbiota, the resp...
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Similar publications
The objective was to examine the pooled effects of antibiotic–probiotic combinations by examining the cure rate and recurrence rate for bacterial vaginosis (BV). A systematic literature search was conducted from electronic databases. All parallel randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that focused on the effects of antibiotics combined with intravagin...
Citations
... Due to methodological constraints, our analysis of phages focused on their abundance rather than their taxonomy. Nevertheless, these ndings show that vaginal bacteriophages are linked to the bacterial community's stability, consistent with previous research on bacteriophages and the vaginal microbiota 17,25 . ...
Background
The composition of the vaginal microbiota during the menstrual cycle is dynamic, with some women remaining eu- or dysbiotic and others transitioning between these states. What defines these dynamics, and whether these differences are microbiome-intrinsic or mostly driven by the host is unknown. To address this, we characterized 49 healthy, young women by metagenomic sequencing of daily vaginal swabs during a menstrual cycle. We classified the dynamics of the vaginal microbiome and assessed the impact of host behavior as well as microbiome differences at the species, strain, gene and phage levels.
Results
Based on the daily shifts in community state types (CSTs) during a menstrual cycle the vaginal microbiome was classified into four Vaginal Community Dynamics (VCDs) and reported in a classification tool, named VALODY: constant eubiotic, constant dysbiotic, menses-related and unstable dysbiotic. The abundance of bacteria, phages, and bacterial gene content was compared between the four VCDs. Women with different VCDs showed significant differences in relative phage abundance and bacterial composition even when assigned to the same CST. Women with unstable VCDs had higher phage counts and were more likely dominated by L. iners. Their Gardnerella spp. strains were also more likely to harbour bacteriocin-coding genes.
Conclusions
The VCDs present a novel time series classification which highlights the complexity of varying degrees of vaginal dysbiosis. Knowing the differences in phage levels and the genomic strains present allows a deeper understanding of the initiation and maintenance of permanent dysbiosis. Applying the VCD’s to further characterize the different types of microbiome dynamics qualifies the investigation of disease and enables comparisons at individual and population levels. Based on our data, to be able to classify a dysbiotic sample into the accurate VCD, clinicians would need two-three mid-cyclical samples and two samples during menses. In the future, it will be important to address whether transient VCDs pose a similar risk profile to persistent dysbiosis with similar clinical outcomes. This framework may aid interdisciplinary translational teams in deciphering the role of the vaginal microbiome in women’s health and reproduction.
... Patients can develop complications whether or not they have clinical symptoms. BV in pregnancy increases the risks of spontaneous abortion, amniotic chorionitis, premature rupture of the membranes and premature delivery, all of which have serious consequences for a woman's health [4,5]. The incidence rate of BV is approximately 23-29%, with significant differences between ethnic groups [6,7]. ...
Gardnerella vaginalis is the main pathogen that causes bacterial vaginosis. In the healthy vaginal microecological environment of a woman, the lactobacilli produce lactate and hydrogen peroxide to inhibit the growth of pathogens such as G. vaginalis. The lack of lactobacilli results in a high pH and low hydrogen peroxide in the vagina which facilitate G. vaginalis growth, leading to the imbalance of the vaginal microecology. In this study, lactate and hydrogen peroxide were added to a G. vaginalis culture medium to simulate the co-culture of the lactobacilli and G. vaginalis, and then the genes related to the stress response of G. vaginalis were identified using transcriptomics and proteomics. It was indicated that, among all the upregulated genes, most of them encoded transporters associated with the efflux of harmful substances, and the majority of the downregulated genes were related to the biofilm formation and epithelial cell adhesion. This study may help find new drug targets for G. vaginalis for the development of novel therapies for bacterial vaginosis.
... The coexistence of BV and periodontitis in smokers (12) is also good evidence of the vagina-oral axis. The association was previously thought to be due to women who smoke being more sexually active than nonsmokers, but more recently, it has been suggested that several chemical factors in cigarettes, together with common abnormalities in mucosal immunity (153), might kill oral and vaginal commensal bacteria directly or via bacteriophages (154,155). ...
The female reproductive tract (FRT) and remote/versatile organs in the body share bidirectional communication. In this review, we discuss the framework of the “FRT-organ axes.” Each axis, namely, the vagina-gut axis, uterus-gut axis, ovary-gut axis, vagina-bladder axis, vagina-oral axis, uterus-oral axis, vagina-brain axis, uterus-brain axis, and vagina-joint axis, is comprehensively discussed separately. Each axis could be involved in the pathogenesis of not only gynecological diseases but also diseases occurring apart from the FRT. Although the microbiota is clearly a key player in the FRT-organ axes, more quantitative insight into the homeostasis of the microbiota could be provided by host function measurements rather than current microbe-centric approaches. Therefore, investigation of the FRT-organ axes would provide us with a multicentric approach, including immune, neural, endocrine, and metabolic aspects, for understanding the homeostatic mechanism of women’s bodies. The framework of the FRT-organ axes could also provide insights into finding new therapeutic approaches to maintain women’s health.
