Quantitative modeling predicts mechanistic links between pre-treatment microbiome composition and metronidazole efficacy in bacterial vaginosis.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial vaginosis is a condition associated with adverse reproductive outcomes and characterized by a shift from a Lactobacillus-dominant vaginal microbiota to a polymicrobial microbiota, consistently colonized by strains of Gardnerella vaginalis. Metronidazole is the first-line treatment; however, treatment failure and recurrence rates remain high. To understand complex interactions between Gardnerella vaginalis and Lactobacillus involved in efficacy, here we develop an ordinary differential equation model that predicts bacterial growth as a function of metronidazole uptake, sensitivity, and metabolism. The model shows that a critical factor in efficacy is Lactobacillus sequestration of metronidazole, and efficacy decreases when the relative abundance of Lactobacillus is higher pre-trea

SUBMITTER: Lee CY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7708644 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature