Large-scale characterisation of the pregnancy vaginal microbiome and sialidase activity in a low-risk Chinese population.

ABSTRACT: Vaginal microbiota-host interactions are linked to preterm birth (PTB), which continues to be the primary cause of global childhood mortality. Due to population size, the majority of PTB occurs in Asia, yet there have been few studies of the pregnancy vaginal microbiota in Asian populations. Here, we characterized the vaginal microbiome of 2689 pregnant Chinese women using metataxonomics and in a subset (n = 819), the relationship between vaginal microbiota composition, sialidase activity and leukocyte presence and pregnancy outcomes. Vaginal microbiota were most frequently dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus or L. iners, with the latter associated with vaginal leukocyte presence. Women with high sialidase activity were enriched for bacterial vaginosis-associated genera including Gardnere

SUBMITTER: Ng S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8688454 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature