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Clinical Microbiology Reviews Apr 2016Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most commonly reported microbiological syndrome among women of childbearing age. BV is characterized by a shift in the vaginal flora from... (Review)
Review
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most commonly reported microbiological syndrome among women of childbearing age. BV is characterized by a shift in the vaginal flora from the dominant Lactobacillus to a polymicrobial flora. BV has been associated with a wide array of health issues, including preterm births, pelvic inflammatory disease, increased susceptibility to HIV infection, and other chronic health problems. A number of potential microbial pathogens, singly and in combinations, have been implicated in the disease process. The list of possible agents continues to expand and includes members of a number of genera, including Gardnerella, Atopobium, Prevotella, Peptostreptococcus, Mobiluncus, Sneathia, Leptotrichia, Mycoplasma, and BV-associated bacterium 1 (BVAB1) to BVAB3. Efforts to characterize BV using epidemiological, microscopic, microbiological culture, and sequenced-based methods have all failed to reveal an etiology that can be consistently documented in all women with BV. A careful analysis of the available data suggests that what we term BV is, in fact, a set of common clinical signs and symptoms that can be provoked by a plethora of bacterial species with proinflammatory characteristics, coupled to an immune response driven by variability in host immune function.
Topics: Bacteria; DNA, Bacterial; Female; Humans; Microbiota; Vaginosis, Bacterial
PubMed: 26864580
DOI: 10.1128/CMR.00075-15 -
Clinical Microbiology Reviews Oct 1991Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common of the vaginitides affecting women of reproductive age. It appears to be due to an alteration in the vaginal ecology by which... (Review)
Review
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common of the vaginitides affecting women of reproductive age. It appears to be due to an alteration in the vaginal ecology by which Lactobacillus spp., the predominant organisms in the healthy vagina, are replaced by a mixed flora including Prevotella bivia, Prevotella disiens, Porphyromonas spp., Mobiluncus spp., and Peptostreptococcus spp. All of these organisms except Mobiluncus spp. are also members of the endogenous vaginal flora. While evidence from treatment trials does not support the notion that BV is sexually transmitted, recent studies have shown an increased risk associated with multiple sexual partners. It has also been suggested that the pathogenesis of BV may be similar to that of urinary tract infections, with the rectum serving as a reservoir for some BV-associated flora. The organisms associated with BV have also been recognized as agents of female upper genital tract infection, including pelvic inflammatory disease, and the syndrome BV has been associated with adverse outcome of pregnancy, including premature rupture of membranes, chorioamnionitis, and fetal loss; postpartum endometritis; cuff cellulitis; and urinary tract infections. The mechanisms by which the BV-associated flora causes the signs of BV are not well understood, but a role for H2O2-producing Lactobacillus spp. in protecting against colonization by catalase-negative anaerobic bacteria has been recognized. These and other aspects of BV are reviewed.
Topics: Female; Humans; Vaginosis, Bacterial
PubMed: 1747864
DOI: 10.1128/CMR.4.4.485 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2022Thyroid disease has been reported to associate with gut microbiota, but the effects of thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules on the oral microbiota are still largely...
OBJECTIVE
Thyroid disease has been reported to associate with gut microbiota, but the effects of thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules on the oral microbiota are still largely unknown. This study aimed to identify the variation in salivary microbiota and their potential association with thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules.
METHODS
We used 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing to examine the salivary microbiota of thyroid cancer patients (n = 14), thyroid nodules patients (n = 9), and healthy controls (n = 15).
RESULTS
The alpha-diversity indices Chao1 and ACE were found to be relatively higher in patients with thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules compared to healthy controls. The beta diversity in both the thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules groups was divergent from the healthy control group. The genera Alloprevotella, Anaeroglobus, Acinetobacter, unclassified Bacteroidales, and unclassified Cyanobacteriales were significantly enriched in the thyroid cancer group compared with the healthy control group. In contrast, the microbiome of the healthy controls was mainly composed of the genera Haemophilus, Lautropia, Allorhizobium Neorhizobium Pararhizobium Rhizobium, Escherichia Shigella, and unclassified Rhodobacteraceae. The thyroid nodules group was dominated by genre uncultured Candidatus Saccharibacteria bacterium, unclassified Clostridiales bacterium feline oral taxon 148, Treponema, unclassified Prevotellaceae, Mobiluncus, and Acholeplasma. In contrast, the genera unclassified Rhodobacteraceae and Aggregatibacter dominated the healthy control group. The study also found that clinical indicators were correlated with the saliva microbiome.
CONCLUSION
The salivary microbiota variation may be connected with thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules.
Topics: Animals; Cats; Humans; Microbiota; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Saliva; Thyroid Neoplasms; Thyroid Nodule
PubMed: 36034695
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.989188 -
Infectious Disease Reports Jan 2022There are few reports of bacteremia caused by in the literature. We present a review of the literature in addition to a case study.
BACKGROUND
There are few reports of bacteremia caused by in the literature. We present a review of the literature in addition to a case study.
METHOD
We describe the case of an 82-year-old patient who underwent gastrointestinal surgery and subsequently presented with dehydration, nausea, and hyperkalemia secondary to diarrhea. Further clinical work included blood cultures, and the patient was started empirically on piperacillin/tazobactam.
RESULTS
After five days, the blood culture bottle showed growth of a gram-variable, curved rod-shaped organism. After culture under anaerobic conditions on sheep blood agar, the organism was identified as by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and enzymatic technology. A review of the literature reveals five additional cases of bacteremia.
CONCLUSIONS
This is the sixth case in the literature describing species bacteremia. This organism is rarely identified in blood culture and is most often thought of in the context of bacterial vaginosis. However, the reported cases of bacteremia show gastrointestinal symptoms and presumed gastrointestinal source of infection. The pathogenesis of infection of this organism requires further investigation.
PubMed: 35076503
DOI: 10.3390/idr14010009 -
International Journal of Molecular... May 2023According to recent data, changes in the vaginal microbiota could affect the risk of gynaecological cancers. Women suffering from endometrial cancer present significant...
According to recent data, changes in the vaginal microbiota could affect the risk of gynaecological cancers. Women suffering from endometrial cancer present significant changes in cervicovaginal microbiota composition. The objective of our study was to characterize the cervicovaginal microbiota of women undergoing hysterectomy due to benign disease, atypical hyperplasia, and endometrial cancer; The study included 96 patients, who undergone surgical treatment due to benign uterine disease, precancerous endometrial lesion, and endometrial cancer. Quantitative and qualitative real-time PCR analysis of DNA isolated from vaginal fornix and endocervical canal samples was performed to detect the 19 most commonly identified microorganisms, including different spp., , , , and ; At least one of the tested microorganisms was identified in 88.5% of vaginal and 83.3% of cervical samples. was significantly more frequent in patients with benign condition, whereas and was more frequent in cancer patients; and which were identified as significantly more common in endometrial cancer vaginal samples, may be considered as potential endometrial cancer co-factors which promote/stimulate carcinogenesis. However, the exact mechanism of such activity remains unexplained and requires further investigations.
Topics: Humans; Female; Cervix Uteri; Vagina; Endometrial Neoplasms; Uterine Diseases; Microbiota; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
PubMed: 37175971
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24098266 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2022Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common vaginal infection and has been associated with increased risk for a wide array of health issues. BV is linked with a variety of...
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common vaginal infection and has been associated with increased risk for a wide array of health issues. BV is linked with a variety of heterogeneous pathogenic anaerobic bacteria, among which is strongly associated with BV diagnosis. However, their genetic features, pathogenicity, interspecific diversity, and evolutionary characters have not been illustrated at genomic level. The current study performed phylogenomic and comparative genomic analyses of . Phylogenomic analyses revealed remarkable phylogenetic distinctions among different species. Compared with had a larger genome and pangenome size with more insertion sequences but less CRISPR-Cas systems. In addition, these two species were diverse in profile of virulence factors, but harbored similar antibiotic resistance genes. Statistically different functional genome profiles between strains from the two species were determined, as well as correlations of some functional genes/pathways with putative pathogenicity. We also showed that high levels of horizontal gene transfer might be an important strategy for species diversification and pathogenicity. Collectively, this study provides the first genome sequence level description of , and may shed light on its virulence/pathogenicity, functional diversification, and evolutionary dynamics. Our study could facilitate the further investigations of this important pathogen, and might improve the future treatment of BV.
PubMed: 35865929
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.939406 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2021The cervicovaginal microbiome plays an important role in protecting women from dysbiosis and infection caused by pathogenic microorganisms. In healthy reproductive-age...
The cervicovaginal microbiome plays an important role in protecting women from dysbiosis and infection caused by pathogenic microorganisms. In healthy reproductive-age women the cervicovaginal microbiome is predominantly colonized by protective spp. The loss of these protective bacteria leads to colonization of the cervicovaginal microenvironment by pathogenic microorganisms resulting in dysbiosis and bacterial vaginosis (BV). and sp. are two of the many anaerobes that can contribute to BV, a condition associated with multiple adverse obstetric and gynecological outcomes. has been linked to high Nugent scores (relating to BV morphotypes) and preterm birth (PTB), whilst some bacterial members of the family are highly prevalent in BV, and identified in ~85-95% of cases. The functional impact of and sp. in BV is still poorly understood. To determine the individual immunometabolic contributions of sp. and within the cervicovaginal microenvironment, we utilized our well-characterized human three-dimensional (3-D) cervical epithelial cell model in combination with multiplex immunoassays and global untargeted metabolomics approaches to identify key immune mediators and metabolites related to and sp. infections. We found that infection with significantly elevated multiple proinflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and MCP-1) and altered metabolites related to energy metabolism (nicotinamide and succinate) and oxidative stress (cysteinylglycine, cysteinylglycine disulfide and 2-hydroxygluatrate). sp. infection significantly elevated multiple sphingolipids and glycerolipids related to epithelial barrier function, and biogenic amines (putrescine and cadaverine) associated with elevated vaginal pH, vaginal amine odor and vaginal discharge. Our study elucidated that elevated multiple proinflammatory markers relating to PTB and STI acquisition, as well as altered energy metabolism and oxidative stress, whilst sp. upregulated multiple biogenic amines associated with the clinical diagnostic criteria of BV. Future studies are needed to evaluate how these bacteria interact with other BV-associated bacteria within the cervicovaginal microenvironment.
Topics: Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Microbiota; Mobiluncus; Pregnancy; Premature Birth; Vagina; Vaginosis, Bacterial
PubMed: 35004344
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.759697 -
MSphere Jun 2022Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiome, characterized by low levels of lactobacilli and overgrowth of a diverse group of bacteria, associated...
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiome, characterized by low levels of lactobacilli and overgrowth of a diverse group of bacteria, associated with higher risk of a variety of infections, surgical complications, cancer, and preterm birth (PTB). Despite the lack of a consistently applicable etiology, spp. are often associated with both BV and PTB, and has known symbiotic relationships with both Peptostreptococcus anaerobius and Gardnerella vaginalis. Higher risk of PTB can also be predicted by a composite of metabolites linked to bacterial metabolism, but their specific bacterial source remains poorly understood. Here, we characterize diversity of metabolic strategies among BV-associated bacteria and lactobacilli and the symbiotic metabolic relationships between and its partners and show how these influence the availability of metabolites associated with BV/PTB and/or pro- or anti-inflammatory immune responses. We confirm a commensal relationship between and , refining its mechanism, which sustains a substantial increase in acetate production. In contrast, the relationship between and strains, with sequence variant G2, is mutualistic, with outcome dependent on the metabolic strategy of the strain. Taken together, our data show how knowledge of inter- and intraspecies metabolic diversity and the effects of symbiosis may refine our understanding of the mechanism and approach to risk prediction in BV and/or PTB. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection for women of childbearing age. Although 50% of women with BV do not have any symptoms, it approximately doubles the risk of catching a sexually transmitted infection and also increases the risk of preterm delivery in pregnant women. Recent studies of the vaginal microbiota have suggested that variation between species in the same genus or between strains of the same species explain better or poorer outcomes or at least some coexistence patterns for bacteria of concern. We tested whether such variation is manifested in how vaginal bacteria grow in the laboratory and whether and how they may share nutrients. We then showed that this affected the overall cocktail of chemicals they produce, including bacterially derived chemicals that we have previously shown are linked to a higher risk of preterm delivery.
Topics: Bacteria; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Lactobacillus; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Pregnancy; Premature Birth; Symbiosis; Vaginosis, Bacterial
PubMed: 35491843
DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00166-22 -
Scientific Reports Jul 2020The vaginal microbiota of healthy women typically has low diversity, which increases after perturbations. Among these, lifestyle associated with certain sexual and...
The vaginal microbiota of healthy women typically has low diversity, which increases after perturbations. Among these, lifestyle associated with certain sexual and antimicrobial practices may be associated with higher diversity. To test this hypothesis, we characterized the vaginal microbiota in the cervicovaginal and introital sites in sexually active Amerindians (N = 82) spanning urbanization, and in urban mestizos (N = 29), in the Venezuelan Amazonas. HPV status was also considered. Sampling was performed in an urban gradient from remote villages to a town, and women were individually classified by the degree of urbanization (low, medium, and high). Amerindian cervicovaginal and introital microbiota diversity were not associated with major changes in urbanization or ethnicity. There was a non-significant trend of increased diversity with urbanization, with a few taxa found overrepresented in urban Amerindians (Brevibacterium linens and Peptoniphilus lacrimalis) or mestizos (Mobiluncus mulieris and Prevotella sp.). Among all women, cervicovaginal and introital samples clustered, respectively, in four and two community state types (CSTs), where most profiles were dominated by Lactobacillus iners, Gardnerella vaginalis or were highly diverse profiles. HPV status did not associate with microbial diversity. In conclusion, no association was found between urban level and the vaginal microbiome in Amerindian women, and little difference was found between ethnicities. L. iners and high diversity profiles, associated with vaginal health outcomes, prevail in these populations.
Topics: Biodiversity; Cervix Uteri; Cluster Analysis; Female; Geography; Humans; Microbiota; Papillomavirus Infections; Urbanization; Vagina; Venezuela; American Indian or Alaska Native
PubMed: 32719372
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69111-x -
Acta Crystallographica. Section D,... Nov 2023Cell-surface proteins known as adhesins enable bacteria to colonize particular environments, and in Gram-positive bacteria often contain autocatalytically formed...
Cell-surface proteins known as adhesins enable bacteria to colonize particular environments, and in Gram-positive bacteria often contain autocatalytically formed covalent intramolecular cross-links. While investigating the prevalence of such cross-links, a remarkable example was discovered in Mobiluncus mulieris, a pathogen associated with bacterial vaginosis. This organism encodes a putative adhesin of 7651 residues. Crystallography and mass spectrometry of two selected domains, and AlphaFold structure prediction of the remainder of the protein, were used to show that this adhesin belongs to the family of thioester, isopeptide and ester-bond-containing proteins (TIE proteins). It has an N-terminal domain homologous to thioester adhesion domains, followed by 51 immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains containing ester- or isopeptide-bond cross-links. The energetic cost to the M. mulieris bacterium in retaining such a large adhesin as a single gene or protein construct suggests a critical role in pathogenicity and/or persistence.
Topics: Female; Humans; Mobiluncus; Adhesins, Bacterial; Esters
PubMed: 37860959
DOI: 10.1107/S2059798323007507