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Vaginal, Cervical and Uterine pH in Women with Normal and Abnormal Vaginal Microbiota
Introduction: Healthy women of reproductive age have a vaginal pH around 4.5, whereas little is known about pH in the upper genital tract. A shift in the vaginal microbiota may result in an elevated pH in the upper genital tract. This might contribute to decreased fertility and increased risk of pre...
Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7909242/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33498288 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10020090 |
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author | Lykke, Malene Risager Becher, Naja Haahr, Thor Boedtkjer, Ebbe Jensen, Jørgen Skov Uldbjerg, Niels |
author_facet | Lykke, Malene Risager Becher, Naja Haahr, Thor Boedtkjer, Ebbe Jensen, Jørgen Skov Uldbjerg, Niels |
author_sort | Lykke, Malene Risager |
collection | PubMed |
description | Introduction: Healthy women of reproductive age have a vaginal pH around 4.5, whereas little is known about pH in the upper genital tract. A shift in the vaginal microbiota may result in an elevated pH in the upper genital tract. This might contribute to decreased fertility and increased risk of preterm birth. Therefore, we aimed to measure pH in different compartments of the female genital tract in both nonpregnant and pregnant women, stratifying into a normal and abnormal vaginal microbiota. Material and methods: In this descriptive study, we included 6 nonpregnant, 12 early-pregnant, and 8 term-pregnant women. A pH gradient was recorded with a flexible pH probe. An abnormal vaginal microbiota was diagnosed by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique for Atopobium vaginae; Sneathia sanguinegens; Leptotrichia amnionii; bacterial vaginosis-associated bacterium 1, 2, 3, and TM7; and Prevotella spp. among others. Results: In all participants we found the pH gradient in the lower reproductive canal to be most acidic in the lower vagina and most alkaline in the upper uterine cavity. Women with an abnormal vaginal microbiota had an increased pH in the lower vagina compared to the other groups. Conclusions: There is a pronounced pH gradient within the female genital tract. This gradient is not disrupted in women with an abnormal vaginal microbiota. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7909242 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-79092422021-02-27 Vaginal, Cervical and Uterine pH in Women with Normal and Abnormal Vaginal Microbiota Lykke, Malene Risager Becher, Naja Haahr, Thor Boedtkjer, Ebbe Jensen, Jørgen Skov Uldbjerg, Niels Pathogens Communication Introduction: Healthy women of reproductive age have a vaginal pH around 4.5, whereas little is known about pH in the upper genital tract. A shift in the vaginal microbiota may result in an elevated pH in the upper genital tract. This might contribute to decreased fertility and increased risk of preterm birth. Therefore, we aimed to measure pH in different compartments of the female genital tract in both nonpregnant and pregnant women, stratifying into a normal and abnormal vaginal microbiota. Material and methods: In this descriptive study, we included 6 nonpregnant, 12 early-pregnant, and 8 term-pregnant women. A pH gradient was recorded with a flexible pH probe. An abnormal vaginal microbiota was diagnosed by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique for Atopobium vaginae; Sneathia sanguinegens; Leptotrichia amnionii; bacterial vaginosis-associated bacterium 1, 2, 3, and TM7; and Prevotella spp. among others. Results: In all participants we found the pH gradient in the lower reproductive canal to be most acidic in the lower vagina and most alkaline in the upper uterine cavity. Women with an abnormal vaginal microbiota had an increased pH in the lower vagina compared to the other groups. Conclusions: There is a pronounced pH gradient within the female genital tract. This gradient is not disrupted in women with an abnormal vaginal microbiota. MDPI 2021-01-20 /pmc/articles/PMC7909242/ /pubmed/33498288 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10020090 Text en © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Communication Lykke, Malene Risager Becher, Naja Haahr, Thor Boedtkjer, Ebbe Jensen, Jørgen Skov Uldbjerg, Niels Vaginal, Cervical and Uterine pH in Women with Normal and Abnormal Vaginal Microbiota |
title | Vaginal, Cervical and Uterine pH in Women with Normal and Abnormal Vaginal Microbiota |
title_full | Vaginal, Cervical and Uterine pH in Women with Normal and Abnormal Vaginal Microbiota |
title_fullStr | Vaginal, Cervical and Uterine pH in Women with Normal and Abnormal Vaginal Microbiota |
title_full_unstemmed | Vaginal, Cervical and Uterine pH in Women with Normal and Abnormal Vaginal Microbiota |
title_short | Vaginal, Cervical and Uterine pH in Women with Normal and Abnormal Vaginal Microbiota |
title_sort | vaginal, cervical and uterine ph in women with normal and abnormal vaginal microbiota |
topic | Communication |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7909242/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33498288 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10020090 |
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