Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, 1101 E. Marshall Street, P.O. Box 980678, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.
Chem Biodivers. 2012 May;9(5):965-76. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.201100359.
Until recently, bacterial species that inhabit the human vagina have been primarily studied using organism-centric approaches. Understanding how these bacterial species interact with each other and the host vaginal epithelium is essential for a more complete understanding of vaginal health. Molecular approaches have already led to the identification of uncultivated bacterial taxa associated with bacterial vaginosis. Here, we review recent studies of the vaginal microbiome and discuss how culture-independent approaches, such as applications of next-generation sequencing, are advancing the field and shifting our understanding of how vaginal health is defined. This work may lead to improved diagnostic tools and treatments for women who suffer from, or are at risk for, vaginal imbalances, pregnancy complications, and sexually acquired infections. These approaches may also transform our understanding of how host genetic factors, physiological conditions (e.g., menopause), and environmental exposures (e.g., smoking, antibiotic usage) influence the vaginal microbiome.
直到最近，人们主要采用以生物体为中心的方法来研究栖息于人体阴道的细菌物种。了解这些细菌物种如何相互作用以及与宿主阴道上皮相互作用对于更全面地了解阴道健康至关重要。分子方法已经导致与细菌性阴道病相关的未培养细菌分类群的鉴定。在这里，我们回顾了最近对阴道微生物组的研究，并讨论了非培养方法（例如下一代测序的应用）如何推动该领域的发展并改变我们对阴道健康定义的理解。这项工作可能会导致为患有或易患阴道失衡、妊娠并发症和性传播感染的女性开发出更好的诊断工具和治疗方法。这些方法还可能改变我们对宿主遗传因素、生理状况（例如更年期）和环境暴露（例如吸烟、抗生素使用）如何影响阴道微生物组的理解。
