Development of the standard mouse model for human bacterial vaginosis induced by .

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a polymicrobial syndrome characterized by a diminished number of protective in the vaginal flora. Instead, it is accompanied by a significant increase in facultative and strict anaerobes, including (). BV is one of the most common gynecological problems experienced by reproductive age-women. Because an ideal and standard animal model for human BV induced by is still underdeveloped, the main objective of this study was to develop a mouse model for human BV induced by to demonstrate the clinical attributes observed in BV patients. A total of 80 female ICR mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups and intravaginally inoculated with different doses of : NC (uninfected negative control), PC1 (inoculated with 1 × 10 CFU of ), PC2 (inoculated with 1 × 10 CFU of ) and PC3 (inoculated with 1 × 10 CFU of ). The myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and serum concentrations of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-10) in mice administered with were significantly higher than those of the control group. Gross lesion and histopathological analysis of reproductive tract of mice inoculated with showed inflammation and higher epithelial cell exfoliation compared to the control group. In addition, vaginal swabs from the mice inoculated with showed the presence of clue cells, which are a characteristic feature of human BV. Altogether, our results suggested that is sufficient to generate comparable clinical attributes seen in patients with BV.