vaginal microbiome
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHost Genetic Factors Associated with Vaginal Microbiome Composition in Kenyan WomenGlobally, bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common condition in women. BV is associated with poorer reproductive health outcomes and HIV risk. Typically, BV represents a shift in the vaginal microbiome from one that is dominated by Lactobacillus to one that is diverse. Despite many women having similar exposures, the prevalence of BV and nonoptimal vaginal microbiome is increased for women of African descent, suggesting a possible...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyCharacterization of the Vaginal Microbiome in Women with Infertility and Its Potential Correlation with Hormone Stimulation during In Vitro Fertilization SurgeryThe microbiome had been hypothesized to be involved in the physiology and pathophysiology of assisted reproduction before the first success in IVF, while the data supporting or refuting this hypothesis were less than conclusive. Thanks to sequencing data from the 16S rRNA subunit, we characterized the microbiome in the reproductive tract of infertile women, and we found that changes in the vaginal microbiome are related to female...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHuman Milk Oligosaccharides Modulate the Risk for Preterm Birth in a Microbiome-Dependent and -Independent MannerThe causes for preterm birth (PTB) often remain elusive. We investigated whether circulating human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) might be involved in modulating urinary and vaginal microbiome promoting or preventing PTB. We identified here HMOs and key microbial taxa associated with indicators of PTB. Based on our results, we propose two models for how HMOs might modulate risk for PTB: (i) by changes in HMOs associated with sterile...
Methods and Protocols | Host-Microbe BiologyComplementing 16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing with Total Bacterial Load To Infer Absolute Species Concentrations in the Vaginal MicrobiomeMicrobiome studies primarily use 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to assess the relative abundance of bacterial taxa in a community. However, these measurements do not accurately reflect absolute taxon concentrations. We sought to determine whether the product of species’ relative abundance and total bacterial load measured by broad-range qPCR is an accurate proxy for individual species’ concentrations, as measured by taxon-specific...