The vaginal microbiome is an intricate and dynamic microecosystem that constantly undergoes fluctuations during the female menstrual cycle and the woman's entire life A healthy vaginal microbiome is dominated by Lactobacillus which produce various antimicrobial compounds Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is characterized by the loss or sharp decline in the total number of Lactobacillus and a corresponding marked increase in the concentration of anaerobic microbes BV is a highly prevalent disorder of the vaginal microbiota among women of reproductive age globally BV is confirmed to be associated with adverse gynecologic and obstetric outcomes, such as sexually transmitted infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, and preterm birth Gardnerella vaginalis is the most common microorganism identified from BV It is the predominant microbe in polymicrobial biofilms that could shelter G vaginalis and other BV-associated microbes from adverse host environments Many efforts have been made to increase our understanding of the vaginal microbiome in health and BV Thus, improved novel and accurate diagnosis and therapeutic strategies for BV have been developed This review covers the features of vaginal microbiome, BV, BV-associated diseases, and various strategies of diagnosis and treatment of BV, with an emphasis on recent research progresses

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The Female Vaginal Microbiome in Health and Bacterial Vaginosis.

Abstract Despite the high prevalence of both cervico-vaginal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and bacterial vaginosis (BV) worldwide, their causal relationship remains unclear. While BV has been presumed to be a risk factor for HPV acquisition and related carcinogenesis for a long time, here, supported by both a large retrospective follow-up study ( n = 6,085) and extensive in vivo data using the K14-HPV16 transgenic mouse model, we report a novel blueprint in which the opposite association also exists. Mechanistically, by interacting with several core members (NEMO, CK1 and β-TrCP) of both NF-κB and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways, we show that HPV E7 oncoprotein greatly inhibits host defense peptide expression. Physiologically secreted by the squamous mucosa lining the lower female genital tract, we demonstrate that some of these latter are fundamental factors governing host-microbial interactions. More specifically, several innate molecules down-regulated in case of HPV infection are hydrolyzed, internalized and used by the predominant Lactobacillus species as amino acid source sustaining their growth/survival. Collectively, this study reveals a new viral immune evasion strategy which, by its persistent/negative impact on lactic acid bacteria, ultimately causes the dysbiosis of vaginal microbiota. 

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HPV infection alters vaginal microbiome through down-regulating host mucosal innate peptides used by Lactobacilli as amino acid sources

Introduction: Infections with oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPV) globally cause about 9% of cancers in females and 1% of cancers in males. HPV disease burden can be effectively controll...

Eradication of human papillomavirus and elimination of HPV-related diseases - scientific basis for global public health policies

Biopolymers have gained tremendous attention in many daily life applications, including medical applications, in the past few years. Obstetrics and gynecology are two fields dealing with sensitive parts of the woman’s body and her newborn baby, which are normally associated with many issues such as toxicity, infections, and even gene alterations. Medical professions that use screening, examination, pre, and post-operation materials should benefit from a better understanding of each type of material’s characteristics, health, and even environmental effects. The underlying principles of biopolymer-based materials for different obstetric and gynecologic applications may discover various advantages and benefits of using such materials. This review presents the health impact of conventional polymer-based materials on pregnant women’s health and highlights the potential use of biopolymers as a safer option. The recent works on utilizing different biopolymer-based materials in obstetric and gynecologic are presented in this review, which includes suture materials in obstetric and gynecologic surgeries, cosmetic and personal care products, vaginal health, and drug delivery; as well as a wound dressing and healing materials. This review highlights the main issues and challenges of biopolymers in obstetric and gynecologic applications.

The Role of Biopolymer-Based Materials in Obstetrics and Gynecology Applications: A Review.

Three human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are available against up to nine HPV types. In Sweden, from 2012, Gardasil was offered to 10−12 year old girls through the school-based vaccination program, and as catchup vaccination for women up to 26 years. To obtain a baseline, and follow HPV vaccination effects, during 2008−2018, cervical and oral HPV prevalence were followed at a youth clinic in Stockholm, and in 2013 for comparison oral HPV prevalence was examined in high-school youth in a middle-sized county in Sweden. In this review, we discuss all our data with cervical and oral mouthwash samples that were collected and tested for 24−27 HPV types by a bead-based multiplex assay from 2008. Compared with 2008−2011, with ~ 35% HPV16 and > 60% high risk (HR) HPV cervical prevalence at the youth clinic, a decrease of vaccine HPV types was observed between 2013 and 2018, with e.g., HPV16 falling to 5% in catchup vaccinated women and 15−18% in nonvaccinated women. Most common cervical HR-HPV types were HPV39, 51, 52, 56, and 59 together accounting for ~ 10% of cervical cancer, and where only HPV52 is included in Gardasil-9. At baseline 2009−2011, oral HPV prevalence was ~ 10% in unvaccinated youth at the youth clinic, but after 2013 it dropped to < 2% at the youth clinic and high schools. To conclude, Gardasil HPV types have decreased, but it is still important to follow remaining HR-HPV types and cancer development, since there is an ongoing increase in the incidence of HPV-associated tonsillar and base of tongue cancer, and cervical cancer in Sweden.

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Human papilloma virus (HPV) prevalence upon HPV vaccination in Swedish youth: a review based on our findings 2008–2018, and perspectives on cancer prevention

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. To define the HPV-associated microbial community among a high vaccination coverage population, we carried out a cross-sectional study with 345 young Swedish women. The microbial composition and its association with HPV infection, including 27 HPV types, were analyzed. Microbial alpha-diversity was found significantly higher in the HPV-infected group (especially with oncogenic HPV types and multiple HPV types), compared with the HPV negative group. The vaginal microbiota among HPV-infected women was characterized by a larger number of bacterial vaginosis-associated bacteria (BVAB), Sneathia, Prevotella, and Megasphaera. In addition, the correlation analysis demonstrated that twice as many women with non-Lactobacillus-dominant vaginal microbiota were infected with oncogenic HPV types, compared with L. crispatus-dominated vaginal microbiota. The data suggest that HPV infection, especially oncogenic HPV types, is strongly associated with a non-Lactobacillus-dominant vaginal microbiota, regardless of age and vaccination status.

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8688793/file/8699132.pdf

Unnur Guðnadóttir

Papers

Vaginal microbiota and human papillomavirus infection among young Swedish women.