Identification of culturable vaginal Lactobacillus species among reproductive age women in Mysore, India

Abstract

A healthy vaginal environment is predominated by certain Lactobacillus species, which lead to the prevention of infections of the reproductive tract. This study examined the characteristics of cultivable Lactobacillus species in both healthy women and women with bacterial vaginosis (BV). Between November 2011 and September 2013, 139 women attending a women's clinic in Mysore, India, were evaluated for BV in a cross-sectional study. BV was diagnosed using Amsel's criteria: homogeneous vaginal discharge, vaginal pH .4.5, production of amines, and presence of ''clue'' cells. Those with three or more of the characteristics were considered to have BV. Vaginal swabs were then cultured in Rogosa agar and de Man-Rogosa-Sharpe broth. Gram-positive lactobacilli generating 600-800 bp amplicons by16 sRNA were further characterized by sequencing. Cultivable vaginal samples were obtained from 132 women (94.9 %). According to the Amsel criteria, 83 women (62.1 %) were healthy, and 49 (37.1 %) had BV. Eleven different Lactobacillus species were isolated from 47 women. The common lactobacilli species found in this sample included L. crispatus (39.6 %), L. gasseri (45.8 %), and L. jensenii (14.6 %). Lactobacilli were isolated from 39 healthy women and eight with BV. L. gasseri was cultured from 18.8 % of healthy women and 6.1 % with BV. The presence of L. reuteri was significantly associated with normal vaginal microbiota (P-value50.026). These results further our understanding of vaginal lactobacilli colonization and richness in this particular population. Our findings showed that lactobacilli species present in the vaginas of healthy women in India do not differ from those reported from other countries.

Cross sectional analysis of vaginal Lactobacillus in asymptomatic women of reproductive age in Mumbai, India

“…Predominant vaginal lactobacilli in Indian women were reported to be different from other populations [17]. However, findings from our study and that in South India depicts different scenario of VMB among women within India [18]. Likewise, three different studies reported contrasting observations of vaginal lactobacilli within South Africa [15,28,29].…”

“…Likewise, three different studies reported contrasting observations of vaginal lactobacilli within South Africa [15,28,29]. This leads to the possibility of variations in vaginal lactobacilli among women from different parts of the country due to ethnic and geographic diversity [18].…”

“…A study from North India reported prevalence of different species of vaginal Lactobacillus in comparison to other countries [17], on the other hand, observed vaginal lactobacilli from women in South India were similar to that of other countries, but different from those in North India. It appears there is variation in vaginal Lactobacillus species among different population in India due to its diverse lifestyle and geographic segmentation [18]. Also, despite having similar Lactobacillus diversity, the metabolic properties of these Lactobacillus species may differ between countries [19].…”

Antimicrobial Compounds Produced by Vaginal Lactobacillus crispatus Are Able to Strongly Inhibit Candida albicans Growth, Hyphal Formation and Regulate Virulence-related Gene Expressions

“…Lactobacillus -dominated microbiota is thought to be a valuable biomarker for vaginal health since the Lactobacillus species can create a barrier against pathogen invasion (Petrova et al, 2015). L. crispatus , L. gasseri , and L. jensenii were the most frequently isolated species in the vagina of healthy women (Pendharkar et al, 2013; Al et al, 2014; Madhivanan et al, 2015), where C. albicans is often a minority co-habitant of vaginal microbiota. In this study, we investigated how these three Lactobacillus species affected C. albicans growth and yeast-to-hyphae transition, which are implicated in its pathogenesis.…”

Comparison of Lactobacillus crispatus isolates from Lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiomes with isolates from microbiomes containing bacterial vaginosis-associated bacteria

“…There are at least five Lactobacillus species that can colonize the vagina: Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus gasseri, Lactobacillus jensenii, Lactobacillus vaginalis and Lactobacillus iners (Antonio et al, 1999;Fettweis et al, 2014;Madhivanan et al, 2015;Wilks et al, 2004). Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common clinical condition characterized by a dramatic increase in both bacterial species diversity and overall bacterial burden.…”