Preliminary investigation of changes in pathogen presence in the vaginal microbiome in association with age
-
Subha Maneesha
,
Borawake Arman
,
Dubli Kirti
,
Balasundaram Preethi
,
Chaudhari Rinku
,
Jayaprakash Teenus
,
Kapoor Raman
,
Singh Raja
,
Kapoor Anmol
,
Borkar-Tripathi Minal
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The vaginal microbiome represents a dynamic ecosystem that undergoes significant transformations throughout a woman's lifespan, influenced by hormonal fluctuations and physiological changes. Interpreting pathogen distribution and developing suitable therapeutic care techniques for women's reproductive health depends on an understanding of these age-related patterns. This study aims to thoroughly describe age-related changes in the makeup of the vaginal microbiome and the distribution of pathogenic species.
Materials and Methods: Vaginal swab samples were collected from 29 subjects, categorized into different age groups (A: 15-30 years, B: 31-40 years, C: 41-50 years, and D: 51-60 years old females). Microbiome DNA was extracted from the collected vaginal swabs and shotgun next generation sequencing was performed. Post-sequencing, data was analysed using in-house pipeline followed by statistical analysis using R programming.
Results: The results showed that microbial diversity varied significantly with age. Group C displayed the most severe pathogenic burden; Group A had the highest overall species diversity with 350 bacterial species. Group D displayed the greatest overall relative abundance levels of microorganisms, primarily due to Lactobacillus rhamnosus dominance.
Conclusion: This study shows that the composition of the vaginal microbiome changes fundamentally over the course of a woman's life, with each stage bringing with it its own set of microbial signatures, pathogenic risks, and therapeutic prospects.
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27. Liu P, Lu Y, Li R, Chen X. Use of probiotic lactobacilli in the treatment of vaginal infections: In vitro and in vivo investigations. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13: 1153894.
28. O'Hanlon DE, Come RA, Moench TR. Vaginal pH measured in vivo: lactobacilli determine pH and lactic acid concentration. BMC Microbiol 2019; 19: 13.
29. Zhou R, Lu J, Wang J, Xiao B. Vaginal Lactobacillus iners abundance is associated with outcome in antibiotic treatment of bacterial vaginosis and capable of inhibiting Gardnerella. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12: 1033431.
30. Zheng N, Guo R, Wang J, Zhou W, Ling Z. Contribution of Lactobacillus iners to vaginal health and diseases: A systematic review. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11: 792787.
31. Hoyt LT, Falconi AM. Puberty and perimenopause: reproductive transitions and their implications for women's health. Soc Sci Med 2015; 132: 103-112.
2. Miller EA, Beasley DE, Dunn RR, Archie EA. Lactobacilli dominance and vaginal pH: Why is the human vaginal microbiome unique? Front Microbiol 2016; 7: 1936.
3. Auriemma RS, Scairati R, Del Vecchio G, Liccardi A, Verde N, Pirchio R, et al. The vaginal Microbiome: A long urogenital colonization throughout woman life. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11: 686167.
4. Arai K, Kamata T, Uchikoba H, Fushinobu S, Matsuzawa H, Taguchi H. Some Lactobacillus L-lactate dehydrogenases exhibit comparable catalytic activities for pyruvate and oxaloacetate. J Bacteriol 2001; 183: 397-400.
5. Navarro S, Abla H, Delgado B, Colmer-Hamood JA, Ventolini G, Hamood AN. Glycogen availability and pH variation in a medium simulating vaginal fluid influence the growth of vaginal Lactobacillus species and Gardnerella vaginalis. BMC Microbiol 2023; 23: 186.
6. Diop K, Dufour JC, Levasseur A, Fenollar F. Exhaustive repertoire of human vaginal microbiota. Hum Microbiome J 2019; 11: 100051.
7. Stapleton AE. The vaginal microbiota and urinary tract infection. Microbiol Spectr 2016; 4: 10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0025-2016.
8. Dover SE, Aroutcheva AA, Faro S, Chikindas ML. Natural antimicrobials and their role in vaginal health; a short review. Int J Probiotics Prebiotics 2008; 3: 219-230.
9. Holdcroft AM, Ireland DJ, Payne MS. The vaginal microbiome in health and Disease-What role do common intimate hygiene practices play? Microorganisms 2023; 11: 298.
10. Salinas AM, Osorio VG, Pacha-Herrera D, Vivanco JS, Trueba AF, Machado A. Vaginal microbiota evaluation and prevalence of key pathogens in ecuadorian women: an epidemiologic analysis. Sci Rep 2020; 10: 18358.
11. Gupta S, Kakkar V, Bhushan I. Crosstalk between vaginal microbiome and female health: A review. Microb Pathog 2019; 136: 103696.
12. Yoshikata R, Yamaguchi M, Mase Y, Tatsuzuki A, Myint KZY, Ohta H. Age-Related Changes, Influencing Factors, and Crosstalk Between Vaginal and Gut Microbiota: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study of Pre- and Postmenopausal Women. Women J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2022; 31: 1763-1772.
13. Chee WJY, Chew SY, Than LTL. Vaginal microbiota and the potential of Lactobacillus derivatives in maintaining vaginal health. Microb Cell Fact 2020; 19: 203.
14. Mondal AS, Sharma R, Trivedi N. Bacterial vaginosis: a state of microbial dysbiosis. Med Microecol 2023; 16: 100082.
15. Onderdonk AB, Delaney ML, Fichorova RN. The human microbiome during bacterial vaginosis. Clin Microbiol Rev 2016; 29: 223-238.
16. Park MG, Cho S, Oh MM. Menopausal changes in the microbiome-A review focused on the Genitourinary microbiome. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13: 1193.
17. Baud A, Hillion KH, Plainvert C, Tessier V, Tazi A, Mandelbrot L, et al. Microbial diversity in the vaginal microbiota and its link to pregnancy outcomes. Sci Rep 2023; 13: 9061.
18. Łaniewski P, Herbst-Kralovetz MM. Connecting microbiome and menopause for healthy ageing. Nat Microbiol 2022; 7: 354-358.
19. Ravel J, Gajer P, Abdo Z, Schneider GM, Koenig SS, McCulle SL, et al. Karlebach S, Gorle R, Russell J, Tacket CO, Brotman RM, Davis CC, Ault K, Peralta L, Forney LJ. Vaginal microbiome of reproductive-age women. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011; 108 Suppl 1(Suppl 1): 4680-4687.
20. Allen NG, Edupuganti L, Edwards DJ, Jimenez NR, Buck GA, Jefferson KK, et al. The vaginal microbiome in women of reproductive age with healthy weight versus overweight/obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2022; 30: 142-152.
21. Xie Y, Wang Q, Li D, Jia F, Chang F, Zhang Z, et al. Role of age in mediating the association between the vaginal microbiota and preterm birth. mSystems 2025; 10(6): e0014925.
22. George SD, Van Gerwen OT, Dong C, Sousa LGV, Cerca N, Elnaggar JH, et al. The role of Prevotella species in female genital tract infections. Pathogens 2024; 13: 364.
23. Walker CK, Sweet RL. Gonorrhea infection in women: prevalence, effects, screening, and management. Int J Womens Health 2011; 3: 197-206.
24. Amabebe E, Anumba DOC. The vaginal Microenvironment: The physiologic role of Lactobacilli. Front Med (Lausanne) 2018; 5: 181.
25. Yu Z, Jiao Y, Zhao Y, Gu W. Level of estrogen in Females-The different impacts at different life stages. J Pers Med 2022; 12: 1995.
26. Dang HT, Noel-Romas L, Knodel S, Birse K, Lamont A, Kratzer K, et al. Aging is associated with decreased Lactobacillus and increased Cervicovaginal inflammation in Canadian women. Am J Reprod Immunol 2025; 93(2): e70058.
27. Liu P, Lu Y, Li R, Chen X. Use of probiotic lactobacilli in the treatment of vaginal infections: In vitro and in vivo investigations. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13: 1153894.
28. O'Hanlon DE, Come RA, Moench TR. Vaginal pH measured in vivo: lactobacilli determine pH and lactic acid concentration. BMC Microbiol 2019; 19: 13.
29. Zhou R, Lu J, Wang J, Xiao B. Vaginal Lactobacillus iners abundance is associated with outcome in antibiotic treatment of bacterial vaginosis and capable of inhibiting Gardnerella. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12: 1033431.
30. Zheng N, Guo R, Wang J, Zhou W, Ling Z. Contribution of Lactobacillus iners to vaginal health and diseases: A systematic review. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11: 792787.
31. Hoyt LT, Falconi AM. Puberty and perimenopause: reproductive transitions and their implications for women's health. Soc Sci Med 2015; 132: 103-112.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 17 No 6 (2025) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v17i6.20357 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Vaginal microbiome Lactobacillus Aging Perimenopause Estrogen | ||
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Maneesha S, Arman B, Kirti D, Preethi B, Rinku C, Teenus J, Raman K, Raja S, Anmol K, Minal B-T. Preliminary investigation of changes in pathogen presence in the vaginal microbiome in association with age. Iran J Microbiol. 2025;17(6):901-911.
