Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), Laboratory of Research in Biofilms Rosário Oliveira (LIBRO), University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.
Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal.
ISME J. 2019 May;13(5):1306-1317. doi: 10.1038/s41396-018-0337-0. Epub 2019 Jan 22.
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is characterized by a highly structured polymicrobial biofilm, which is strongly adhered to the vaginal epithelium and primarily consists of the bacterium Gardnerella vaginalis. However, despite the presence of other BV-associated bacteria, little is known regarding the impact of other species on BV development. To gain insight into BV progress, we analyzed the ecological interactions between G. vaginalis and 15 BV-associated microorganisms using a dual-species biofilm model. Bacterial populations were quantified using a validated peptide nucleic acid fluorescence in situ hybridization approach. Furthermore, biofilm structure was analyzed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. In addition, bacterial coaggregation ability was determined as well as the expression of key virulence genes. Remarkably, our results revealed distinct biofilm structures between each bacterial consortium, leading to at least three unique dual-species biofilm morphotypes. Furthermore, our transcriptomic findings seem to indicate that Enterococcus faecalis and Actinomyces neuii had a higher impact on the enhancement of G. vaginalis virulence, while the other tested species had a lower or no impact on G. vaginalis virulence. This study casts a new light on how BV-associated species can modulate the virulence aspects of G. vaginalis, contributing to a better understanding of the development of BV-associated biofilms.
细菌性阴道病 (BV) 的特征是高度结构化的多微生物生物膜，其强烈附着于阴道上皮，主要由细菌阴道加德纳菌组成。然而，尽管存在其他与 BV 相关的细菌，但对于其他物种对 BV 发展的影响知之甚少。为了深入了解 BV 的进展，我们使用双物种生物膜模型分析了阴道加德纳氏菌与 15 种与 BV 相关的微生物之间的生态相互作用。使用经过验证的肽核酸荧光原位杂交方法定量细菌种群。此外，通过共聚焦激光扫描显微镜分析生物膜结构。此外，还测定了细菌的共聚能力以及关键毒力基因的表达。值得注意的是，我们的结果揭示了每个细菌联合体之间不同的生物膜结构，导致至少有三种独特的双物种生物膜形态。此外，我们的转录组学研究结果似乎表明，粪肠球菌和内氏放线菌对增强阴道加德纳氏菌毒力的影响更大，而其他测试的物种对阴道加德纳氏菌毒力的影响较小或没有影响。这项研究揭示了 BV 相关物种如何调节阴道加德纳氏菌的毒力方面，有助于更好地理解与 BV 相关的生物膜的发展。
