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Updated: Dec 25, 2025
Author Spotlight: Revolutionizing Research on Vaginal Microbiome Interactions Using a Vaginal Chip
Published on: February 16, 2024
Pregnancy associates with alterations to the host and microbial proteome in vaginal mucosa
Christina Farr Zuend1,2, Nicole H Tobin3, Trisha Vera1,2
1National HIV and Retrovirology Labs, J.C. Wilt Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Problem:
Pregnant women are at increased risk of HIV acquisition, but the biological mechanisms contributing to this observation are not well understood.
Method Of Study:
Here, we assessed host immune and microbiome differences in the vaginal mucosa of healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women using a metaproteomics approach. Cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) samples were collected from 23 pregnant and 25 non-pregnant women.
Results:
Mass spectrometry analysis of CVL identified 550 human proteins and 376 bacterial proteins from 11 genera. Host proteome analysis indicated 56 human proteins (10%) were differentially abundant (P < .05) between pregnant and non-pregnant women, including proteins involved in angiogenesis (P = 3.36E-3), cell movement of phagocytes (P = 1.34E-6), and permeability of blood vessels (P = 1.27E-4). The major bacterial genera identified were Lactobacillus, Gardnerella, Prevotella, Megasphaera, and Atopobium. Pregnant women had higher levels of Lactobacillus species (P = .017) compared with non-pregnant women. Functional pathway analysis indicated that pregnancy associated with changes to bacterial metabolic pathway involved in energy metabolism, which were increased in pregnant women (P = .035).
Conclusion:
Overall, pregnant women showed differences in the cervicovaginal proteome and microbiome that may be important for HIV infection risk.
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