Exogenous Reproductive Hormones nor Candida albicans Colonization Alter the Near Neutral Mouse Vaginal pH.

ABSTRACT: While human vaginal pH in childbearing-age women is conclusively acidic, the mouse vaginal pH is reported as being near neutral. However, this information appears to be somewhat anecdotal with respect to vulvovaginal candidiasis, as such claims in the literature frequently lack citations of studies that specifically address this physiological factor. Given the disparate pH between mice and humans, the role of exogenous hormones and colonization by the fungal pathogen Candida albicans in shaping vaginal pH was assessed. Use of a convenient modified vaginal lavage technique with the pH indicator dye phenol red demonstrated that indeed vaginal pH was near neutral (7.2 ± 0.24) and was not altered by delivery of progesterone or estrogen in C57BL/6 mice. These trends were conserved in DBA/2 and

SUBMITTER: Miao J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7822140 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature