Lacroix Guillaume, Gouyer Valérie, Gottrand Frédéric, Desseyn Jean-Luc
Inserm U1286, Infinite, Univ. Lille, CHU Lille, F-59000 Lille, France.
Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Nov 4;21(21):8266. doi: 10.3390/ijms21218266.
Preterm births are a global health priority that affects 15 million babies every year worldwide. There are no effective prognostic and therapeutic strategies relating to preterm delivery, but uterine infections appear to be a major cause. The vaginal epithelium is covered by the cervicovaginal mucus, which is essential to health because of its direct involvement in reproduction and functions as a selective barrier by sheltering the beneficial lactobacilli while helping to clear pathogens. During pregnancy, the cervical canal is sealed with a cervical mucus plug that prevents the vaginal flora from ascending toward the uterine compartment, which protects the fetus from pathogens. Abnormalities of the cervical mucus plug and bacterial vaginosis are associated with a higher risk of preterm delivery. This review addresses the current understanding of the cervicovaginal mucus and the cervical mucus plug and their interactions with the microbial communities in both the physiological state and bacterial vaginosis, with a focus on gel-forming mucins. We also review the current state of knowledge of gel-forming mucins contained in mouse cervicovaginal mucus and the mouse models used to study bacterial vaginosis.
早产是一项全球卫生重点问题，每年在全球影响着1500万婴儿。目前尚无与早产相关的有效预后和治疗策略，但子宫感染似乎是一个主要原因。阴道上皮被宫颈阴道黏液覆盖，该黏液对健康至关重要，因为它直接参与生殖，并通过庇护有益的乳酸杆菌同时帮助清除病原体而起到选择性屏障的作用。在怀孕期间，宫颈管被宫颈黏液栓封闭，可防止阴道菌群向上进入子宫腔，从而保护胎儿免受病原体侵害。宫颈黏液栓异常和细菌性阴道病与早产风险较高有关。本综述阐述了目前对宫颈阴道黏液和宫颈黏液栓的认识，以及它们在生理状态和细菌性阴道病中与微生物群落的相互作用，重点关注凝胶形成黏蛋白。我们还综述了小鼠宫颈阴道黏液中所含凝胶形成黏蛋白的现有知识以及用于研究细菌性阴道病的小鼠模型。
