Department of Clinical Engineering and Medical Technology, Niigata University Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan.
Department of Pathology, Niigata Cancer Center Hospital, Niigata, Japan.
Diagn Cytopathol. 2020 Dec;48(12):1205-1210. doi: 10.1002/dc.24538. Epub 2020 Jul 6.
Nonspecific vaginitis, also known as Bacterial vaginosis, unlike genital candidiasis and trichomoniasis, is caused by microbiome breakdown. Döderlein's bacillus are gram-positive bacillus that form a microbiome, reproduce in the female vagina after gaining sexual maturity, secrete lactic acid, and prevent the growth of other vaginitis-causing bacteria. Clue cell are squamous epithelial cells with Gardnerella sp. attached to their cell surface. The presence of clue cell is one of the diagnostic criteria for nonspecific vaginitis. Additionally, although macrophages are reported to protect against candidal vaginitis, there are no reports of studies examining the association between macrophages and clue cell.
After re-staining 300 class I specimens by cervical cancer screening with Papanicolaou staining, the appearance of Döderlein's bacillus, macrophages, and clue cell was observed.
Age group and appearance of Döderlein's bacillus were negatively correlated. The rate of appearance of macrophages was positively correlated with the age group. In people aged 50 years or more, the appearance rate of clue cells was significantly lower in the macrophage appearance group than that in the non-appearance group.
This study suggested that macrophages, and not Döderlein's bacillus, may play an important role in defense against nonspecific vaginitis.
非特异性阴道炎，又称细菌性阴道病，与生殖器念珠菌病和滴虫病不同，是由微生物组破坏引起的。Döderlein 杆菌是革兰氏阳性杆菌，形成微生物组，在女性性成熟后在阴道中繁殖，分泌乳酸，防止其他阴道炎细菌的生长。线索细胞是带有 Gardnerella sp. 的鳞状上皮细胞附着在其细胞表面。线索细胞的存在是非特异性阴道炎的诊断标准之一。此外，尽管有报道称巨噬细胞可预防念珠菌性阴道炎，但尚无研究检查巨噬细胞和线索细胞之间的关联。
对 300 例宫颈癌筛查巴氏染色的 I 级标本进行重新染色后，观察 Döderlein 杆菌、巨噬细胞和线索细胞的外观。
年龄组与 Döderlein 杆菌的外观呈负相关。巨噬细胞出现率与年龄组呈正相关。在 50 岁或以上的人群中，巨噬细胞出现组的线索细胞出现率明显低于非出现组。
本研究表明，巨噬细胞而不是 Döderlein 杆菌可能在防御非特异性阴道炎中发挥重要作用。
