Cargando…

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...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Lykke, Malene Risager, Becher, Naja, Haahr, Thor, Boedtkjer, Ebbe, Jensen, Jørgen Skov, Uldbjerg, Niels
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
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
_version_ 1783655889926881280
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
work_keys_str_mv AT lykkemalenerisager vaginalcervicalanduterinephinwomenwithnormalandabnormalvaginalmicrobiota
AT bechernaja vaginalcervicalanduterinephinwomenwithnormalandabnormalvaginalmicrobiota
AT haahrthor vaginalcervicalanduterinephinwomenwithnormalandabnormalvaginalmicrobiota
AT boedtkjerebbe vaginalcervicalanduterinephinwomenwithnormalandabnormalvaginalmicrobiota
AT jensenjørgenskov vaginalcervicalanduterinephinwomenwithnormalandabnormalvaginalmicrobiota
AT uldbjergniels vaginalcervicalanduterinephinwomenwithnormalandabnormalvaginalmicrobiota