The female upper reproductive tract harbors endogenous microbial profiles

Frontiers in Endocrinology

Endocrinology

Teresa Escamez¹  Maria Teresa Prieto-Sánchez²  Maria Luisa Sánchez-Ferrer²  Carmen Martínez Rodríguez³  Irene Leonés-Baños⁴  Eduardo Salas-Espejo⁴  Inmaculada Pérez-Prieto⁵  Signe Altmäe⁶  Pilar Coy⁷  Analuce Canha-Gouveia⁸ 

[1] Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), University Clinical Hospital "Virgen de la Arrixaca", Murcia, Spain;BiobancMur-Nodo 1, Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB)-Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain;Spanish Biobank Platform, Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain;Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), University Clinical Hospital "Virgen de la Arrixaca", Murcia, Spain;Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, “Virgen de la Arrixaca” University Clinical Hospital, Murcia, Spain;Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), University Clinical Hospital "Virgen de la Arrixaca", Murcia, Spain;Genomics Unit, Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB)-Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain;Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain;Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain;Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain;Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain;Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain;Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology (CLINTEC), Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain;Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), University Clinical Hospital "Virgen de la Arrixaca", Murcia, Spain;Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain;Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), University Clinical Hospital "Virgen de la Arrixaca", Murcia, Spain;Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain;

关键词: fallopian tubes;    endometrium;    16S rRNA gene;    microbes;    microbiome;    microbiota;    upper reproductive tract;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fendo.2023.1096050

 received in 2022-11-11, accepted in 2023-05-26,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionThe female reproductive tract harbours unique microbial communities (known as microbiota) which have been associated with reproductive functions in health and disease. While endometrial microbiome studies have shown that the uterus possesses higher bacterial diversity and richness compared to the vagina, the knowledge regarding the composition of the Fallopian tubes (FT) is lacking, especially in fertile women without any underlying conditions.MethodsTo address this gap, our study included 19 patients who underwent abdominal hysterectomy for benign uterine pathology, and 5 women who underwent tubal ligation as a permanent contraceptive method at Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca (HCUVA). We analyzed the microbiome of samples collected from the FT and endometrium using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.ResultsOur findings revealed distinct microbiome profiles in the endometrial and FT samples, indicating that the upper reproductive tract harbors an endogenous microbiome. However, these two sites also shared some similarities, with 69% of the detected taxa Being common to both. Interestingly, we identified seventeen bacterial taxa exclusively present in the FT samples, including the genera Enhydrobacter, Granulicatella, Haemophilus, Rhizobium, Alistipes, and Paracoccus, among others. On the other hand, 10 bacterial taxa were only found in the endometrium, including the genera Klebsiella, Olsenella, Oscillibacter and Veillonella (FDR <0.05). Furthermore, our study highlighted the influence of the endometrial collection method on the findings. Samples obtained transcervically showed a dominance of the genus Lactobacillus, which may indicate potential vaginal contamination. In contrast, uterine samples obtained through hysterescopy revealed higher abundance of the genera Acinetobacter, Arthrobacter, Coprococcus, Methylobacterium, Prevotella, Roseburia, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus.DiscussionAlthough the upper reproductive tract appears to have a low microbial biomass, our results suggest that the endometrial and FT microbiome is unique to each individual. In fact, samples obtained from the same individual showed more microbial similarity between the endometrium and FT compared to samples from different women. Understanding the composition of the female upper reproductive microbiome provides valuable insights into the natural microenvironment where processes such as oocyte fertilization, embryo development and implantation occur. This knowledge can improve in vitro fertilization and embryo culture conditions for the treatment of infertility.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Canha-Gouveia, Pérez-Prieto, Rodríguez, Escamez, Leonés-Baños, Salas-Espejo, Prieto-Sánchez, Sánchez-Ferrer, Coy and Altmäe