Gangiah Tamlyn K, Alisoltani Arghavan, Potgieter Matthys, Bell Liam, Ross Elizabeth, Iranzadeh Arash, McDonald Zac, Allali Imane, Dabee Smritee, Barnabas Shaun, Blackburn Jonathan M, Tabb David L, Bekker Linda-Gail, Jaspan Heather B, Passmore Jo-Ann S, Mulder Nicola, Masson Lindi
Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, Computational Biology Division, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa.
Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden.
Microbiome. 2025 Mar 19;13(1):76. doi: 10.1186/s40168-025-02066-1.
Female genital tract (FGT) diseases such as bacterial vaginosis (BV) and sexually transmitted infections are prevalent in South Africa, with young women being at an increased risk. Since imbalances in the FGT microbiome are associated with FGT diseases, it is vital to investigate the factors that influence FGT health. The mycobiome plays an important role in regulating mucosal health, especially when the bacterial component is disturbed. However, we have a limited understanding of the FGT mycobiome since many studies have focused on bacterial communities and have neglected low-abundance taxonomic groups, such as fungi. To reduce this knowledge deficit, we present the first large-scale metaproteomic study to define the taxonomic composition and potential functional processes of the FGT mycobiome in South African reproductive-age women.
We examined FGT fungal communities present in 123 women by collecting lateral vaginal wall swabs for liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. From this, 39 different fungal genera were identified, with Candida dominating the mycobiome (53.2% relative abundance). We observed changes in relative abundance at the protein, genus, and functional (gene ontology biological processes) level between BV states. In women with BV, Malassezia and Conidiobolus proteins were more abundant, while Candida proteins were less abundant compared to BV-negative women. Correspondingly, Nugent scores were negatively associated with total fungal protein abundance. The clinical variables, Nugent score, pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, vaginal pH, Chlamydia trachomatis, and the presence of clue cells were associated with fungal community composition.
The results of this study revealed the diversity of FGT fungal communities, setting the groundwork for understanding the FGT mycobiome. Video Abstract.
诸如细菌性阴道病（BV）和性传播感染等女性生殖道（FGT）疾病在南非很普遍，年轻女性的患病风险更高。由于FGT微生物群的失衡与FGT疾病相关，因此研究影响FGT健康的因素至关重要。真菌微生物群在调节黏膜健康方面发挥着重要作用，尤其是当细菌成分受到干扰时。然而，我们对FGT真菌微生物群的了解有限，因为许多研究都集中在细菌群落上，而忽略了低丰度分类群，如真菌。为了减少这一知识空白，我们开展了第一项大规模的元蛋白质组学研究，以确定南非育龄妇女FGT真菌微生物群的分类组成和潜在功能过程。
我们通过收集阴道侧壁拭子进行液相色谱-串联质谱分析，检测了123名女性的FGT真菌群落。从中鉴定出39个不同的真菌属，其中念珠菌在真菌微生物群中占主导地位（相对丰度为53.2%）。我们观察到在BV状态之间，蛋白质、属和功能（基因本体生物学过程）水平上的相对丰度发生了变化。与BV阴性女性相比，患有BV的女性中马拉色菌和冠状耳霉的蛋白质更为丰富，而念珠菌的蛋白质则较少。相应地， Nugent评分与总真菌蛋白质丰度呈负相关。临床变量、Nugent评分、促炎细胞因子、趋化因子、阴道pH值、沙眼衣原体以及线索细胞的存在与真菌群落组成有关。
本研究结果揭示了FGT真菌群落的多样性，为理解FGT真菌微生物群奠定了基础。视频摘要。
