Analysis Of Vaginal Microbial Communities In Healthy Women And Patients With Bacterial Vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common gential tract infection. BV is associated with several potentially serious complications. These include pelvic inflammatory disease, horioamnionitis, preterm labor, lowe birth weight and an increased risk of acquiring HIV. The complex microbial community dynamics play a pivotal role in the pathology of bacterial vaginosis.In present study culture-independent method by constructing 16s rRNA gene clone libraries were used to analyse vaginal microbial communities in healthy women and patients with bacterial vaginosis . The detailed methods and results are as follows.1. According to Amsel and Nugent criteria, three healthy women or patients with BV were diagnosed respectively. Total microbial community DNA was extracted from vaginal swab. And 16s rRNA gene clone libraries were constructed. The ARDRA pattern of 275 positive clones were analysed, and 20 representative clones belonging to different types were sequenced. Comparison of the 20 sequences to the 16s rRNA gene sequences in GenBank was done using the BLAST software, yielding a total of 20 species. The study showed that L. crispatus and L. iners clones accounted for a larger proportion respectively in the libraries for healthy women. In addition, L. vaginalis and L. jensenii clones were present in a small amount. In the libraries for patients with BV, the microbial varieties increased obviously, but both Gardnerella vaginalis and Atopobium vaginae clones constituted a greater portion.2.With the specific primer for 16s rRNA gene of Atopobium vaginae(AVlF, AV3R), 26 samples were PCR amplificated,including 12 healthy women and 14 patients with BV. The A. vaginae -specific amplicons were present in 11 of 14 BV- patients samples, but in only 1 of 12 healthy women samples.Conclusion: 1. The study suggested that Lactbacillus species predominated in the vaginal microflora of healthy women. And L. iners was one of the dominant species. 2. The study found that the vaginal microflora was complicated and various in BV-patients. But both Gardnerella vaginalis and Atopobium vaginae were present predominantly in all patients with BV. PCR analysis demonstrated that Atopobium vaginae was related to the occurrence of BV. 3.The culture-independent method based 16s rRNA gene sequence had important significance in the analysis of vaginal microflora. It warrants further investigation in more populations.