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ABSTRACT: Background
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a condition marked by high vaginal bacterial diversity. Gardnerella vaginalis has been implicated in BV but is also detected in healthy women. The Gardnerella genus has been expanded to encompass 6 validly named species and several genomospecies. We hypothesized that particular Gardnerella species may be more associated with BV.Methods
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were developed targeting the cpn60 gene of species groups including G. vaginalis, G. piotii/pickettii, G. swidsinskii/greenwoodii, and G. leopoldii. These assays were applied to vaginal swabs from individuals with (n = 101) and without BV (n = 150) attending a sexual health clinic in Seattle, Washington. Weekly swabs were collected from 42 participants for up to 12 weeks.Results
Concentrations and prevalence of each Gardnerella species group were significantly higher in participants with BV; 91.1% of BV-positive participants had 3 or more Gardnerella species groups detected compared to 32.0% of BV-negative participants (P < .0001). BV-negative participants with 3 or more species groups detected were more likely to develop BV within 100 days versus those with fewer (60.5% vs 3.7%, P < .0001).Conclusions
These results suggest that BV reflects a state of high Gardnerella species diversity. No Gardnerella species group was a specific marker for BV.
SUBMITTER: Munch MM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC11272073 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Munch Matthew M MM Strenk Susan M SM Srinivasan Sujatha S Fiedler Tina L TL Proll Sean S Fredricks David N DN
The Journal of infectious diseases 20240701 1
<h4>Background</h4>Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a condition marked by high vaginal bacterial diversity. Gardnerella vaginalis has been implicated in BV but is also detected in healthy women. The Gardnerella genus has been expanded to encompass 6 validly named species and several genomospecies. We hypothesized that particular Gardnerella species may be more associated with BV.<h4>Methods</h4>Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were developed targeting the cpn60 gene of species grou ...[more]