Identification of Potential Biomarkers in the Cervicovaginal Fluid by Metabolic Profiling for Preterm Birth

Ansari, AbuZar; Hee-Yeon, Lee; You, Young Ah; Jung, Youngae; Park, Sunwha; Kim, Soo Min; Hwang, Geum‐Sook; Kim, Young Ju

doi:10.3390/metabo10090349

Cited by 21 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 56 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We did not distinguish between L-and D-lactate due to use of the NMR platform. Expanding the range of metabolites using mass spectrometry would be desirable (52) although through CVF NMR analysis we identified 29 metabolites which are comparable to previous NMR studies (i.e., six (42), 11 (46) and 28 (44)).…”

Section: Developing Sptb Models Using Species-level Phylotypes Metabolites and Hdpssupporting

confidence: 77%

Cervicovaginal microbiota and metabolome predict preterm birth risk in an ethnically diverse cohort

Flaviani¹,

Hezelgrave²,

Kanno³

et al. 2021

JCI Insight

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Developing Sptb Models Using Species-level Phylotypes Metabolites and Hdpssupporting

confidence: 77%

Cervicovaginal microbiota and metabolome predict preterm birth risk in an ethnically diverse cohort

Flaviani¹,

Hezelgrave²,

Kanno³

et al. 2021

JCI Insight

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The importance of deciphering the vaginal metabolic profiles lies in the fact that the composition of vaginal metabolome can significantly impact on maternal-foetal health [ 36 ]. It has been shown that specific vaginal molecules (e.g., acetone, ethylene glycol, formate, glycolate, isopropanol, methanol, and TMAO) can predict the risk of preterm birth, with a negative correlation with gestational age at birth and cervical length [ 24 , 37 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While many studies have investigated the composition of the vaginal microbiome during pregnancy, less information is available regarding the vaginal metabolome in the different periods of gestation [ 22 – 24 ]. Therefore, in this study we characterized and compared the vaginal metabolomic profiles throughout pregnancy at two different gestational ages (i.e., first and second trimester), correlating them with a microscopic evaluation of the vaginal bacterial composition and various clinical and demographic parameters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vaginal metabolic profiles during pregnancy: Changes between first and second trimester

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During pregnancy, the vaginal microbiome plays an important role in both maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Throughout pregnancy, the vaginal microbial composition undergoes significant changes, including a decrease in overall diversity and enrichment with Lactobacillus spp. In turn, the modifications in the microbial profiles are associated with shifts in the composition of vaginal metabolites. In this study, we characterized the vaginal metabolic profiles throughout pregnancy at two different gestational ages, correlating them with a microscopic evaluation of the vaginal bacterial composition. A total of 67 Caucasian pregnant women presenting to the Family Advisory Health Centres of Ravenna (Italy) were enrolled and a vaginal swab was collected at gestational ages 9–13 weeks (first trimester) and 20–24 weeks (second trimester). The composition of the vaginal microbiome was assessed by Nugent score and women were divided in ‘H’ (normal lactobacilli-dominated microbiota), ‘I’ (intermediate microbiota), and ‘BV’ (bacterial vaginosis) groups. Starting from the cell-free supernatants of the vaginal swabs, a metabolomic analysis was performed by means of a 1H-NMR spectroscopy. From the first to the second trimester, a greater number of women showed a normal lactobacilli-dominated microbiota, with a reduction of cases of dysbiosis. These microbial shifts were associated with profound changes in the vaginal metabolic profiles. Over the weeks, a significant reduction in the levels of BV-associated metabolites (e.g. acetate, propionate, tyramine, methylamine, putrescine) was observed. At the same time, the vaginal metabolome was characterized by higher concentrations of lactate and of several amino acids (e.g. tryptophan, threonine, isoleucine, leucine), typically found in healthy vaginal conditions. Over time, the vaginal metabolome became less diverse and more homogeneous: in the second trimester, women with BV showed metabolic profiles more similar to the healthy/intermediate groups, compared to the first trimester. Our data could help unravel the role of vaginal metabolites in the pathophysiology of pregnancy.

show abstract

“…The changes in the bacterial communities are accompanied by profound alterations in the composition of vaginal metabolites: specific vaginal molecules (e.g., acetone, ethylene glycol, formate, isopropanol, and methanol) can predict the risk of preterm birth, with a negative correlation with gestational age at birth (Ghartey et al, 2015;Ansari et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Insights into Vaginal Environment During Pregnancy

Marangoni

Laghi

Zagonari

et al. 2021

Front. Mol. Biosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During pregnancy, the vaginal ecosystem undergoes marked changes, including a significant enrichment with Lactobacillus spp. and profound alterations in metabolic profiles. A deep comprehension of the vaginal environment may shed light on the physiology of pregnancy and may provide novel biomarkers to identify subjects at risk of complications (e.g., miscarriage, preterm birth). In this study, we characterized the vaginal ecosystem in Caucasian women with a normal pregnancy (n = 64) at three different gestational ages (i.e., first, second and third trimester) and in subjects (n = 10) suffering a spontaneous first trimester miscarriage. We assessed the vaginal bacterial composition (Nugent score), the vaginal metabolic profiles (1H-NMR spectroscopy) and the vaginal levels of two cytokines (IL-6 and IL-8). Throughout pregnancy, the vaginal microbiota became less diverse, being mainly dominated by lactobacilli. This shift was clearly associated with marked changes in the vaginal metabolome: over the weeks, a progressive reduction in the levels of dysbiosis-associated metabolites (e.g., biogenic amines, alcohols, propionate, acetate) was observed. At the same time, several metabolites, typically found in healthy vaginal conditions, reached the highest concentrations at the end of pregnancy (e.g., lactate, glycine, phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine). Lower levels of glucose were an additional fingerprint of a normal vaginal environment. The vaginal levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly associated with the number of vaginal leukocytes, as well as with the presence of vaginal symptoms, but not with a condition of dysbiosis. Moreover, IL-8 concentration seemed to be a good predictor of the presence of vaginal Candida spp. Cytokine concentrations were negatively correlated to lactate, serine, and glycine concentrations, whereas the levels of 4-hydroxyphenyllactate, glucose, O-acetylcholine, and choline were positively correlated with Candida vaginal loads. Finally, we found that most cases of spontaneous abortion were associated with an abnormal vaginal microbiome, with higher levels of selected metabolites in the vaginal environment (e.g., inosine, fumarate, xanthine, benzoate, ascorbate). No association with higher pro-inflammatory cytokines was found. In conclusion, our analysis provides new insights into the pathophysiology of pregnancy and highlights potential biomarkers to enable the diagnosis of early pregnancy loss.

show abstract

Identification of Potential Biomarkers in the Cervicovaginal Fluid by Metabolic Profiling for Preterm Birth

Cited by 21 publications

References 56 publications

Cervicovaginal microbiota and metabolome predict preterm birth risk in an ethnically diverse cohort

Cervicovaginal microbiota and metabolome predict preterm birth risk in an ethnically diverse cohort

Vaginal metabolic profiles during pregnancy: Changes between first and second trimester

New Insights into Vaginal Environment During Pregnancy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About