Vaginal Microbiome in Pregnant Women with and without Short Cervix

• Published in: Nutrients 2023-05, Vol.15 (9), p.2173
• Main Authors: Silvano, Angela, Meriggi, Niccolò, Renzi, Sonia, Seravalli, Viola, Torcia, Maria Gabriella, Cavalieri, Duccio, Di Tommaso, Mariarosaria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: aerobic vaginitis; Analysis; Cervix; Cervix Uteri; Discriminant analysis; Ethnicity; Female; Gardenerella vaginalis; Genetic testing; Humans; Lactobacillus; Metagenome; Metagenomics; microbiome; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Premature birth; Relative abundance; Risk factors; risk in pregnancy; shortened cervix; Statistical analysis; Taxonomy; Vagina; Vaginitis; Veganism; White people
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu15092173

Cervical shortening is a recognised risk factor for pre-term birth. The vaginal microbiome plays an essential role in pregnancy and in maternal and foetal outcomes. We studied the vaginal microbiome in 68 women with singleton gestation and a cervical length ≤25 mm and in 29 pregnant women with a cervix >25 mm in the second or early third trimester. Illumina protocol 16S Metagenomic Sequencing Library Preparation was used to detail amplified 16SrRNA gene. Statistical analyses were performed in R environment. was the phylum most represented in all pregnant women. The mean relative abundance of and was higher in women with a short cervix. Bacterial abundance was higher in women with a normal length cervix compared to the group of women with a short cervix. Nonetheless, a significant enrichment in bacterial taxa poorly represented in vaginal microbiome was observed in the group of women with a short cervix. and taxa usually found in aerobic vaginitis, were more common in women with a short cervix compared with the control group, while and were associated with a normal cervical length. and were associated with a short cervix.