AUTHOR=Riganelli Lucia , Iebba Valerio , Piccioni Mariagrazia , Illuminati Isabella , Bonfiglio Giulia , Neroni Bruna , Calvo Ludovica , Gagliardi Antonella , Levrero Massimo , Merlino Lucia , Mariani Marianna , Capri Oriana , Pietrangeli Daniela , Schippa Serena , Guerrieri Francesca TITLE=Structural Variations of Vaginal and Endometrial Microbiota: Hints on Female Infertility JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology VOLUME=10 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00350 DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2020.00350 ISSN=2235-2988 ABSTRACT=

Microbiota are microorganismal communities colonizing human tissues exposed to the external environment, including the urogenital tract. The bacterial composition of the vaginal microbiota has been established and is partially related to obstetric outcome, while the uterine microbiota, considered to be a sterile environment for years, is now the focus of more extensive studies and debates. The characterization of the microbiota contained in the reproductive tract (RT) of asymptomatic and infertile women, could define a specific RT microbiota associated with implantation failure. In this pilot study, 34 women undergoing personalized hormonal stimulation were recruited and the biological samples of each patient, vaginal fluid, and endometrial biopsy, were collected immediately prior to oocyte-pick up, and sequenced. Women were subsequently divided into groups according to fertilization outcome. Analysis of the 16s rRNA V4-V5 region revealed a significant difference between vaginal and endometrial microbiota. The vaginal microbiota of pregnant women corroborated previous data, exhibiting a lactobacilli-dominant habitat compared to non-pregnant cases, while the endometrial bacterial colonization was characterized by a polymicrobial ecosystem in which lactobacilli were exclusively detected in the group that displayed unsuccessful in vitro fertilization. Overall, these preliminary results revisit our knowledge of the genitourinary microbiota, and highlight a putative relationship between vaginal/endometrial microbiota and reproductive success.