Cervical Microbiome in Women Infected with HPV16 and High-Risk HPVs

Thanayod Sasivimolrattana; Wasun Chantratita; Insee Sensorn; Arkom Chaiwongkot; Shina Oranratanaphan; Pattarasinee Bhattarakosol; Parvapan Bhattarakosol

doi:10.3390/ijerph192214716

Cervical Microbiome in Women Infected with HPV16 and High-Risk HPVs

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 9;19(22):14716. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192214716.

Authors

Thanayod Sasivimolrattana^{1

2}, Wasun Chantratita³, Insee Sensorn³, Arkom Chaiwongkot^{2

4}, Shina Oranratanaphan⁵, Pattarasinee Bhattarakosol⁶, Parvapan Bhattarakosol^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Medical Microbiology Interdisciplinary Program, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
² Center of Excellence in Applied Medical Virology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
³ Center for Medical Genomics, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
⁴ Division of Virology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
⁵ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
⁶ Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.

Abstract

Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) and/or high-risk (Hr-) HPV are the main causes of cervical cancer. Another element that may contribute to the development of cervical cancer is the microbiota. To date, no study has investigated the entire cervical microbiome, which consists of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. In this study, cervical samples with different histopathology (CIN1, CIN2, and CIN3), with or without HPV16 and Hr-HPVs infection, were enrolled. From bacterial community analysis, 115 bacterial species were found and separated into 2 distinct categories based on Lactobacillus abundance: Lactobacilli-dominated (LD) and non-Lactobacilli-dominated (NLD) groups. The LD group had significantly less bacterial diversity than the NLD group. In addition, the variety of bacteria was contingent on the prevalence of HPV infection. Among distinct histological groups, an abundance of L. iners (>60% of total Lactobacillus spp.) was discovered in both groups. A few fungi, e.g., C. albicans, were identified in the fungal community. The viral community analysis revealed that the presence of HPV considerably reduced the diversity of human viruses. Taken together, when we analyzed all our results collectively, we discovered that HPV infection was a significant determinant in the diversity of bacteria and human viruses in the cervix.

Keywords: HPV; bacterial community; cervical cancer; fungal community; human papillomavirus; microbiome; viral community.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cervix Uteri / pathology
Female
Human papillomavirus 16
Humans
Lactobacillus
Microbiota*
Papillomavirus Infections* / epidemiology
Uterine Cervical Dysplasia* / epidemiology
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* / pathology

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Ratchadaphiseksomphot Matching Fund (grant number RA-MF-46/64) (Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University) to P.B., the Thailand Science Research and Innovation Fund (TSRI) (grant number CU_FRB640001_01_30_9) to P.B. and A.C., The 100th Anniversary Chulalongkorn University Fund for Doctoral Scholarship to T.S. and the 90th Anniversary Chulalongkorn University Fund (Ratchadaphiseksomphot Endowment Fund) to P.B. and T.S.