title: Subclinical alteration of the cervical-vaginal microbiome in women with idiopathic infertility.
abstract: Biomarkers have a wide application in research and clinic, they help to choose the correct treatment for diseases. Recent studies, addressing the vaginal microbiome using next generation sequencing (NGS), reported the involvement of bacterial species in infertility. We compared the vaginal microbiome of idiopathic infertile women with that of healthy, including bacterial vaginosis affected women and non-idiopathic infertile women, to identify bacterial species suitable as biomarkers. Information on microorganisms was obtained from the V3-16S rDNA sequencing of cervical-vaginal fluids of 96 women using the Ion Torrent platform. Data were processed with QIIME and classified against the Vaginal 16S rDNA Reference Database. The analysis revealed a significant beta-diversity variation (p < 0.001) between the four groups included in the study. L. iners, L. crispatus, and L. gasseri distinguished idiopathic infertile women from the other groups. In these women, a microbial profile similar to that observed in bacterial vaginosis women has been detected. Our results suggest that the quantitative assessment and identification of specific microorganisms of the cervical-vaginal microflora could increase the accuracy of available tools for the diagnosis of infertility and improve the adoption of therapeutic protocols.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Campisciano
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Fiorella
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Florian
authors.affiliation: Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS "Burlo Garofolo", Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Eustacchio
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stanković
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.|Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS "Burlo Garofolo", Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.|Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS "Burlo Garofolo", Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Seta
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.|Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS "Burlo Garofolo", Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Manola
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Comar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044822:Biodiversity; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000382:microbiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000382:microbiology*; D064307:Microbiota; D013045:Species Specificity; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology*; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology
keywords: 16S sequencing; anaerobes; idiopathic infertility; ion torrent; microbiome