Vaginal microbiota metabolites contribute to the cervicovaginal inflammatory status

What is it about?

The vaginal microbiota influences the susceptibility of women to infection with pathogens such as HIV, with much of this effect thought to be due to increased vaginal inflammation in women colonized with a non-optimal microbiota. Here we show that lactic acid (which is produced by bacteria that dominate in women with an optimal vaginal microbiota) mediates a potent and unique anti-inflammatory effect on cells of the female genital tract, and protects against pathogen-elicited inflammation. This activity may be responsible for the ability of lactic acid-producing bacteria to prevent genital inflammation in vivo and protect against HIV infection. We also show that factors produced by bacterial communities present in women with a non-optimal vaginal microbiota dysregulate the inflammatory response of cells from the female genital tract, which may contribute to increased inflammation and heightened HIV transmission.

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Photo by Charles on Unsplash

Photo by Charles on Unsplash

Why is it important?

These findings contribute to our understanding of how commensal bacteria and their products influence sexual and reproductive health outcomes in women, and have potential to inform the development of female-initiated strategies to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections by the use of lactic acid and/or probiotic approaches to mitigate vaginal inflammation

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