TY - JOUR

T1 - Vaginal microbiome following orally administered probiotic

AU - Hertz, Frederik Boëtius

AU - Holm, Jacob Bak

AU - Pallejá, Albert

AU - Björnsdóttir, María Kristín

AU - Mikkelsen, Lasse Sommer

AU - Brandsborg, Erik

AU - Frimodt-Møller, Niels

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. APMIS published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Scandinavian Societies for Medical Microbiology and Pathology.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Here, we present a longitudinal shotgun sequencing metagenomics study of 16 healthy, Danish women in the reproductive age. The aim of the study was to investigate whether lactobacilli, orally consumed, had any impact on the vaginal microbiome and its functional potential. The 16 women aged 19–45 years were recruited from Copenhagen, Denmark. One baseline vaginal sample (Day 0) and two study samples (Days 25–30 and Days 55–60, respectively), were sampled. The vaginal samples were analyzed by shotgun metagenomics. We detected 26 species in the vaginal microbiota of the 16 women, of which six belonged to the Lactobacillus genus. We observed three vaginal microbiome clusters mainly dominated by Gardnerella vaginalis, Lactobacillus iners, or Lactobacillus crispatus. The oral probiotic had no detectable effect on either the composition or the functional potential of the vaginal microbiota. Most of the study subjects (11 out of 16 women) exhibited only minor changes in the vaginal microbiome during the treatment with probiotics. Any compositional changes could not be associated to the probiotic treatment. Future studies may benefit from an increased number of participants, and administration of the probiotics during conditions with bacterial imbalance (e.g., during/after antibiotic treatment) or the use of different Lactobacillus spp. known to colonize the vagina.

AB - Here, we present a longitudinal shotgun sequencing metagenomics study of 16 healthy, Danish women in the reproductive age. The aim of the study was to investigate whether lactobacilli, orally consumed, had any impact on the vaginal microbiome and its functional potential. The 16 women aged 19–45 years were recruited from Copenhagen, Denmark. One baseline vaginal sample (Day 0) and two study samples (Days 25–30 and Days 55–60, respectively), were sampled. The vaginal samples were analyzed by shotgun metagenomics. We detected 26 species in the vaginal microbiota of the 16 women, of which six belonged to the Lactobacillus genus. We observed three vaginal microbiome clusters mainly dominated by Gardnerella vaginalis, Lactobacillus iners, or Lactobacillus crispatus. The oral probiotic had no detectable effect on either the composition or the functional potential of the vaginal microbiota. Most of the study subjects (11 out of 16 women) exhibited only minor changes in the vaginal microbiome during the treatment with probiotics. Any compositional changes could not be associated to the probiotic treatment. Future studies may benefit from an increased number of participants, and administration of the probiotics during conditions with bacterial imbalance (e.g., during/after antibiotic treatment) or the use of different Lactobacillus spp. known to colonize the vagina.

KW - Healthy microbiome

KW - Public health

KW - Shotgun metagenomics

KW - Vaginal microbiome

KW - Women

U2 - 10.1111/apm.13261

DO - 10.1111/apm.13261

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35801409

AN - SCOPUS:85134603161

VL - 130

SP - 605

EP - 611

JO - A P M I S. Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica

JF - A P M I S. Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica

SN - 0903-4641

IS - 10

ER -