The vaginal mycobiome: A contemporary perspective on fungi in women's health and diseases

Abstract

Most of what is known about fungi in the human vagina has come from culture-based studies and phenotypic characterization of single organisms. Though valuable, these approaches have masked the complexity of fungal communities within the vagina. The vaginal mycobiome has become an emerging field of study as genomics tools are increasingly employed and we begin to appreciate the role these fungal communities play in human health and disease. Though vastly outnumbered by its bacterial counterparts, fungi are important constituents of the vaginal ecosystem in many healthy women. Candida albicans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen, colonizes 20% of women without causing any overt symptoms, yet it is one of the leading causes of infectious vaginitis. Understanding its mechanisms of commensalism and pathogenesis are both essential to developing more effective therapies. Describing the interactions between Candida, bacteria (such as Lactobacillus spp.) and other fungi in the vagina is fundamental to our characterization of the vaginal mycobiome.

Fungal interactions with the human host: exploring the spectrum of symbiosis

“…Mycobiome studies have been performed for most mucosal surfaces including the oral cavity [6], GI tract [7,8], vagina [9,10], lung [11,12], and skin [13,14]. Over 75 genera of fungi have been identified in the oral cavity alone, which can seed the respiratory or GI tract mycobiome.…”

Saccharomyces cerevisiae-Based Probiotics as Novel Antimicrobial Agents to Prevent and Treat Vaginal Infections

“…Despite a wide body of knowledge about the composition of vaginal microbiota exists, little is known about the composition of the vaginal mycobiome. Recent studies (Guo et al, 2012;Bradford and Ravel, 2017) have reported that in healthy women, Ascomycota is the predominant phylum, followed by Basidiomycota and Oomycota. Candida, Saccharomyces, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, and Alternaria represent the commonly genera of the vaginal mycobiome (Guo et al, 2012;Drell et al, 2013).…”

Regulation of mononuclear phagocyte function by the microbiota at mucosal sites

“…The vaginal microbiota is largely dominated by bacteria (Lactobacillus spp.) but comprises fungi and viruses also, [116][117][118] with all three playing important roles in reproductive health. [117][118][119] The composition of the vaginal microbiota is heavily dependent on age, stage of menstrual cycle, hormonal fluctuations, sexual behaviour, and also the use of probiotics and antibiotics.…”