The Vaginal Virome—Balancing Female Genital Tract Bacteriome, Mucosal Immunity, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes?
Besides bacteria, fungi, protists and archaea, the vaginal ecosystem also contains a range of prokaryote- and eukaryote-infecting viruses, which are collectively referred to as the “virome”. Despite its well-described role in the gut and other environmental niches, the vaginal virome remains underst...
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doaj-64ea2411ed0c479095e24bac9ea320d82020-11-25T03:48:25ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152020-07-011283283210.3390/v12080832The Vaginal Virome—Balancing Female Genital Tract Bacteriome, Mucosal Immunity, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes?Anna-Ursula Happel0Arvind Varsani1Christina Balle2Jo-Ann Passmore3Heather Jaspan4Department of Pathology, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town 7925, South AfricaThe Biodesign Center of Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, School of Life Sciences, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85287-5001, USADepartment of Pathology, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town 7925, South AfricaDepartment of Pathology, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town 7925, South AfricaDepartment of Pathology, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town 7925, South AfricaBesides bacteria, fungi, protists and archaea, the vaginal ecosystem also contains a range of prokaryote- and eukaryote-infecting viruses, which are collectively referred to as the “virome”. Despite its well-described role in the gut and other environmental niches, the vaginal virome remains understudied. With a focus on sexual and reproductive health, we summarize the currently known components of the vaginal virome, its relationship with other constituents of the vaginal microbiota and its association with adverse health outcomes. While a range of eukaryote-infecting viruses has been described to be present in the female genital tract (FGT), few prokaryote-infecting viruses have been described. Literature suggests that various vaginal viruses interact with vaginal bacterial microbiota and host immunity and that any imbalance thereof may contribute to the risk of adverse reproductive health outcomes, including infertility and adverse birth outcomes. Current limitations of vaginal virome research include experimental and analytical constraints. Considering the vaginal virome may represent the missing link in our understanding of the relationship between FGT bacteria, mucosal immunity, and adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes, future studies evaluating the vaginal microbiome and its population dynamics holistically will be important for understanding the role of the vaginal virome in balancing health and disease.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/8/832vaginal viromefemale genital tractmicrobiotabacteriomehost immunityadverse birth outcomes |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Anna-Ursula Happel Arvind Varsani Christina Balle Jo-Ann Passmore Heather Jaspan |
spellingShingle |
Anna-Ursula Happel Arvind Varsani Christina Balle Jo-Ann Passmore Heather Jaspan The Vaginal Virome—Balancing Female Genital Tract Bacteriome, Mucosal Immunity, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes? Viruses vaginal virome female genital tract microbiota bacteriome host immunity adverse birth outcomes |
author_facet |
Anna-Ursula Happel Arvind Varsani Christina Balle Jo-Ann Passmore Heather Jaspan |
author_sort |
Anna-Ursula Happel |
title |
The Vaginal Virome—Balancing Female Genital Tract Bacteriome, Mucosal Immunity, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes? |
title_short |
The Vaginal Virome—Balancing Female Genital Tract Bacteriome, Mucosal Immunity, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes? |
title_full |
The Vaginal Virome—Balancing Female Genital Tract Bacteriome, Mucosal Immunity, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes? |
title_fullStr |
The Vaginal Virome—Balancing Female Genital Tract Bacteriome, Mucosal Immunity, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes? |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Vaginal Virome—Balancing Female Genital Tract Bacteriome, Mucosal Immunity, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes? |
title_sort |
vaginal virome—balancing female genital tract bacteriome, mucosal immunity, and sexual and reproductive health outcomes? |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Viruses |
issn |
1999-4915 |
publishDate |
2020-07-01 |
description |
Besides bacteria, fungi, protists and archaea, the vaginal ecosystem also contains a range of prokaryote- and eukaryote-infecting viruses, which are collectively referred to as the “virome”. Despite its well-described role in the gut and other environmental niches, the vaginal virome remains understudied. With a focus on sexual and reproductive health, we summarize the currently known components of the vaginal virome, its relationship with other constituents of the vaginal microbiota and its association with adverse health outcomes. While a range of eukaryote-infecting viruses has been described to be present in the female genital tract (FGT), few prokaryote-infecting viruses have been described. Literature suggests that various vaginal viruses interact with vaginal bacterial microbiota and host immunity and that any imbalance thereof may contribute to the risk of adverse reproductive health outcomes, including infertility and adverse birth outcomes. Current limitations of vaginal virome research include experimental and analytical constraints. Considering the vaginal virome may represent the missing link in our understanding of the relationship between FGT bacteria, mucosal immunity, and adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes, future studies evaluating the vaginal microbiome and its population dynamics holistically will be important for understanding the role of the vaginal virome in balancing health and disease. |
topic |
vaginal virome female genital tract microbiota bacteriome host immunity adverse birth outcomes |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/8/832 |
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