Center of Excellence in Oral and Craniofacial Biology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Infect Immun. 2021 Jan 19;89(2). doi: 10.1128/IAI.00624-20.
For over three decades, investigators have used estrogen-dependent rodent animal models to study pathogenesis of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) or test promising antifungal drugs. One disparity not well publicized is that rodents maintain near neutral vaginal pH, which is in contrast to the acidic vaginal pH in women. In this issue of , Miao and coworkers (J. Miao, H. M. E. Willems, and B. M. Peters, Infect Immun 89:e00550-20, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00550-20) have addressed the topic with an elegant study that not only confirms the near neutral vaginal pH in mice, but also reveals a stable vaginal pH that is not influenced by exogenous reproductive hormones or vaginal colonization. More importantly, they make a convincing argument that the neutral vaginal pH should not deter using the model for research purposes. This commentary further emphasizes the points made and attempts to provide a more global perspective on this interesting property of the animal model.
三十多年来，研究人员一直使用依赖于雌激素的啮齿动物动物模型来研究外阴阴道念珠菌病 (VVC) 的发病机制或测试有前途的抗真菌药物。一个没有得到很好宣传的差异是，啮齿动物维持接近中性的阴道 pH 值，与女性酸性的阴道 pH 值形成对比。在本期的《感染与免疫》杂志上，Miao 及其同事（J. Miao、H. M. E. Willems 和 B. M. Peters， Infect Immun 89:e00550-20, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00550-20）发表了一项优雅的研究，不仅证实了小鼠阴道接近中性 pH 值，还揭示了一种稳定的阴道 pH 值，不受外源生殖激素或阴道定植的影响。更重要的是，他们提出了一个令人信服的观点，即中性阴道 pH 值不应阻止将该模型用于研究目的。本评论进一步强调了这一点，并试图从更全局的角度来看待该动物模型的这一有趣特性。
