Characteristics of Vaginal Microbiome in Reproductive-Age Females with HPV Infection in Xinjiang, China

Yan Xia; Ying Feng; Tianhua Qin; Xiaohua Zhao; Jing Lu; Cailing Ma

doi:10.1155/2022/7332628

Characteristics of Vaginal Microbiome in Reproductive-Age Females with HPV Infection in Xinjiang, China

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Nov 1:2022:7332628. doi: 10.1155/2022/7332628. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yan Xia^{1

2}, Ying Feng³, Tianhua Qin², Xiaohua Zhao², Jing Lu², Cailing Ma¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, State Key Laboratory of Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment of High Incidence Diseases in Central Asia, Urumqi 830000, China.
² Department of Gynecology, Urumqi Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Urumqi 830000, China.
³ College of Public Health, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830000, China.

Abstract

Objective: We investigated the characteristics of vaginal microbiome in reproductive-age females with HPV infection in Xinjiang, China.

Methods: A total of 135 females of reproductive age were enrolled. There were 43 healthy HPV-negative females in control group (N group), 58 HPV-positive females in nonlesion group (P1 group), and 34 HPV-positive females in low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion group (P2 group). DNA was extracted from the vaginal secretions, and V3-V4 regions of bacterial 16S rDNA were amplified and sequenced by NovaSeq. QIIME2 and R software were used to perform diversity analysis of bacteria. PICRUSt2 was used to predict the function of the vaginal microbiota.

Results: Lactobacillus was the main genus of vaginal microbiota in asymptomatic reproductive-age females with or without HPV in Xinjiang. The diversity of vaginal microbiota in the P1 group was significantly higher than that in the N group, and the proportion of Gardnerella increased significantly. The vaginal microbiota structure of the P2 group was different from the N group, characterized by the decrease of Lactobacillus crispatus and the increase of Shuttleworthia. The function of the inordinate microbiome may play a role in accelerating HPV replication and integration.

Conclusion: The structure of vaginal microbiota alters under persistent HPV infection in asymptomatic females of reproductive age in Xinjiang. The Gardnerella increase is associated with increased susceptibility to HPV infection, and Lactobacillus iners predominance and Shuttleworthia presence may be a signature of HPV infection with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion.