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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Virus and Host
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1486166

Understanding the Vaginal Microbiome among Women with Different Genotypes of Human Papillomavirus infection in Remote Andaman Islands

Provisionally accepted
Rehnuma Parvez Rehnuma Parvez 1*Santhiya Vijayakumar Santhiya Vijayakumar 2Alwin Vins Alwin Vins 1Sudha Ramaiah Sudha Ramaiah 2Anand Anbarasu Anand Anbarasu 2Lipika Biswas Lipika Biswas 1*Harpreet Kaur Harpreet Kaur 3MURUGANANDAM NAGARAJAN MURUGANANDAM NAGARAJAN 1*
  • 1 Regional Medical Research Centre (ICMR), Port Blair, India
  • 2 School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 3 Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a viral infection, and its acquisition and persistence are significantly influenced by the vaginal microbiota. Understanding and comparing the vaginal microbiome of HPV infected women in Andaman and Nicobar Islands is crucial.The study involved collecting vaginal swabs and extracting DNA using the QIAamp DNA Minikit. The DNA was then subjected to PCR amplification to confirm HPV infection. HiSeq 2500 platform was utilized to perform sequencing utilizing 2 x 250 piared end chemistry.Taxonomic analysis was performed and Bacterial abundance plots were generated and samples were grouped based on demographic parameters, pap test diagnosis, and genotypes. To assess diversity, samples were rarefied to 6,500 sequence reads per sample, and alpha and beta diversity metrics were calculated.The study analyzed the presence of 21 assigned phyla, with Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Bacteriodetes, and Proteobacteria emerging as the predominant taxa. At the genus level, Lactobacillus and Gardnerella dominated across all samples. Gardnerella was significantly more abundant in HPV-positive (22.40%) compared to HPV-negative samples (10.04%). Symptomatic group of HPV-positive samples had Gardnerella, and unclassified Coriobacteriaceae being dominant.In terms of bacterial diversity, the study found statistically significant association when comprising individuals aged 21 to 30 years to those aged 31 to 40 years.Most research concluded that exposure to HPV can boost bacterial diversity in vagina compared to healthy women, increasing the risk of cervical cancer development. Current study highlights the importance of vaginal microbiome associated with high and low risk HPV, various age group as well as the symptomatic and asymptomatic cases of HPV infected women in South Andaman.

    Keywords: vaginal microbiome, Human papillomavirus, South Andaman, Women, Symptomatic

    Received: 25 Aug 2024; Accepted: 14 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Parvez, Vijayakumar, Vins, Ramaiah, Anbarasu, Biswas, Kaur and NAGARAJAN. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Rehnuma Parvez, Regional Medical Research Centre (ICMR), Port Blair, India
    Lipika Biswas, Regional Medical Research Centre (ICMR), Port Blair, India
    MURUGANANDAM NAGARAJAN, Regional Medical Research Centre (ICMR), Port Blair, India

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.