[Vaginal ecosystem]

Vaginal flora plays an important role in preventing genital and urinary tract infections in women. In fact every little movement of obligate and/or facultative vaginal micro flora over the normal limits for this ecosystem causes vaginal disbacteriosis. Vaginal disbacteriosis is a risk condition which can cause infection. Thus an accurate understanding of the composition and ecology of the ecosystem is important to understanding the etiology of urogenital diseases. The aim of this review is to update knowledge about vaginal micro biota, the Lactobacillus species that dominate normal vaginal flora and the way they suppressed infectivity and/or proliferation of pathogenic bacteria. A Medline (Pub med) and medical literature search from 1990-2010 for relevant articles was performed and the most informative articles were selected. Lactic acid bacteria determinate the most of defense mechanisms of women vagina by concurrent adhesion, producing lactic acid, antimicrobial products, hydrogen peroxide and by local interactions with the innate and cell-mediated immune systems and plasminogen-plasmin system. All this mechanisms promotes the stability of the normal vaginal micro flora. Every Lactobacillus species play a different role in host--defense vaginal system. The presence of different Lactobacillus species with the normal vaginal micro flora is a major determinant to the stability of this micro flora and for urogenital health.