Shen Su, Zhao Shixian, Shan Jinjun, Ren Qingling
Gynecology Department, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Medical Metabolomics Center, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 4;15(1):796. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-84796-0.
The presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) contributes to the development of cervical lesions and cervical cancer. Recent studies suggest that an imbalance in the cervicovaginal microbiota might be a factor in the persistence of HR-HPV infections. In this study, we collected 156 cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) of women with HR-HPV infection, which were divided into three groups (negative for intraepithelial lesions = 78, low/high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions = 52/26). We performed metabolomics and 16 S rRNA sequencing to identify changes in metabolites and cervicovaginal microbiota among patients with HR-HPV infection and varying grades of cervical lesions. We detected 164 metabolites and 389 flora types in the three groups. Ten CVF metabolites-N-methylalanine, phenylacetaldehyde, succinic acid, 2-3-dihydroxypyridine, DL-p-hydroxylphenyllactic acid, gluconic acid lactone, guanine, glucose-6-phosphate, erythrose, and sucrose showed significant associations with disease severity and distinct separation patterns in HR-HPV-infected patients with LSIL and HSIL, with an area under the curve of 0.928. The most abundant microbial communities in the CVF were Gardnerella. Gardnerella was found to be associated with increased levels of succinic acid, thereby highlighting distinct metabolic profiles. These findings suggest that the development of cervical lesions resulting from persistent HR-HPV infection is associated with significant alterations in systemic metabolism and shifts in the cervicovaginal microbiota, providing valuable insights into the metabolic and microbiota changes linked to disease severity.
高危型人乳头瘤病毒(HR-HPV)的存在会促使宫颈病变和宫颈癌的发展。最近的研究表明,宫颈阴道微生物群失衡可能是HR-HPV感染持续存在的一个因素。在本研究中,我们收集了156份HR-HPV感染女性的宫颈阴道液(CVF),将其分为三组(上皮内病变阴性=78例,低/高级别鳞状上皮内病变=52/26例)。我们进行了代谢组学和16S rRNA测序,以确定HR-HPV感染患者及不同级别宫颈病变患者的代谢物和宫颈阴道微生物群的变化。我们在三组中检测到164种代谢物和389种菌群类型。十种CVF代谢物——N-甲基丙氨酸、苯乙醛、琥珀酸、2-3-二羟基吡啶、DL-p-羟基苯乳酸、葡萄糖酸内酯、鸟嘌呤、6-磷酸葡萄糖、赤藓糖和蔗糖,与疾病严重程度显著相关,并且在HR-HPV感染的低级别鳞状上皮内病变(LSIL)和高级别鳞状上皮内病变(HSIL)患者中呈现出明显的分离模式,曲线下面积为0.928。CVF中最丰富的微生物群落是加德纳菌属。研究发现加德纳菌属与琥珀酸水平升高有关,从而突出了不同的代谢特征。这些发现表明,持续的HR-HPV感染导致的宫颈病变发展与全身代谢的显著改变以及宫颈阴道微生物群的变化有关,为与疾病严重程度相关的代谢和微生物群变化提供了有价值的见解。