A fruitful alliance: the synergy between <i>Atopobium vaginae</i> and <i>Gardnerella vaginalis</i> in bacterial vaginosis-associated biofilm

Hardy, Liselotte, Jespers, Vicky, Abdellati, Said, De Baetselier, Irith, Mwambarangwe, Lambert, Musengamana, Viateur, van de Wijgert, Janneke ORCID: 0000-0003-2728-4560, Vaneechoutte, Mario and Crucitti, Tania (2016) A fruitful alliance: the synergy between <i>Atopobium vaginae</i> and <i>Gardnerella vaginalis</i> in bacterial vaginosis-associated biofilm. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS, 92 (7). pp. 487-491.

Text A fruitful alliance: the synergy between Atopobium vaginae and Gardnerella vaginalis in bacterial vaginosis-associated biofilm.pdf - Published version Download (5MB)

Abstract

<h4>Objectives</h4>Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is characterised by a change in the microbial composition of the vagina. The BV-associated organisms outnumber the health-associated <i>Lactobacillus</i> species and form a polymicrobial biofilm on the vaginal epithelium, possibly explaining the difficulties with antibiotic treatment. A better understanding of vaginal biofilm with emphasis on <i>Atopobium vaginae</i> and <i>Gardnerella vaginalis</i> may contribute to a better diagnosis and treatment of BV.<h4>Methods</h4>To this purpose, we evaluated the association between the presence of both bacteria by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and BV by Nugent scoring in 463 vaginal slides of 120 participants participating in a clinical trial in Rwanda.<h4>Results</h4>A bacterial biofilm was detected in half of the samples using a universal bacterial probe. The biofilm contained <i>A. vaginae</i> in 54.1% and <i>G. vaginalis</i> in 82.0% of the samples. <i>A. vaginae</i> was accompanied by <i>G. vaginalis</i> in 99.5% of samples. The odds of having a Nugent score above 4 were increased for samples with dispersed <i>G. vaginalis</i> and/or <i>A. vaginae</i> present (OR 4.5; CI 2 to 10.3). The probability of having a high Nugent score was even higher when a combination of adherent <i>G. vaginalis</i> and dispersed <i>A. vaginae</i> was visualised (OR 75.6; CI 13.3 to 429.5) and highest when both bacteria were part of the biofilm (OR 119; CI 39.9 to 360.8).<h4>Conclusions</h4>Our study, although not comprehensive at studying the polymicrobial biofilm in BV, provided a strong indication towards the importance of <i>A. vaginae</i> and the symbiosis of <i>A. vaginae</i> and <i>G. vaginalis</i> in this biofilm.<h4>Trial registration number</h4>NCT01796613.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	ANTIBIOTIC SENSITIVITY, BACTERIAL VAGINOSIS, DIAGNOSIS, GENITAL TRACT INFECT, MICROBIOLOGY
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	15 Dec 2017 10:49
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2023 05:44
DOI:	10.1136/sextrans-2015-052475
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3014235