The Vaginal Microbiota and Bacterial Vaginosis David N. Fredricks, MD Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a highly prevalent condition linked to numerous adverse health outcomes in women. The application of tools in molecular biology to study the vaginal microbiota has advanced our understanding of this enigmatic condition but has also raised critical questions. This presentation will focus on understanding the composition and dynamics of the vaginal microbiota, and how changes in the vaginal bacterial microbiota are linked to BV. Do vaginal Lactobacillus species protect from development of BV? What are the implications for use of probiotics to prevent or treat BV? What are the microbiological antecedents to incident and relapsing BV? What are the kinetics of disappearance of BV-associated bacteria with antibiotic treatment? Is there evidence of antibiotic resistance in BV-associated bacteria that is linked to relapse? How are BV-associated bacteria acquired? Do BV-associated bacteria colonize the mouth, rectum, and labia of women, and does their presence predict risk of subsequent BV? How do BV-associated bacteria change the vaginal environment? How does host innate immunity shape risk of BV and colonization with BV-associated bacteria? What is the connection between BV-associated bacteria and HIV infection risk? How can molecular microbiology data be used to successfully cultivate fastidious BV-associated bacteria in the lab? I will present data that informs answers to these questions and highlights recent advances in the field.
Supported by NIH grants: R01 AI-061628 and U19 AI-113173
Credits
Credits: None available.
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