Vaginal Microbial Network Analysis Reveals Novel Taxa Relationships among Adolescent and Young Women with Incident Sexually Transmitted Infection Compared with Those Remaining Persistently Negative over a 30-Month Period
Year: 2023
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: and is often associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Although compositional characterization of the VMB is well-characterized, especially for BV, knowledge remains limited on how different groups of bacteria relate to incident STIs, especially among adolescents. In this study, we compared the VMB (measured via 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing) of Kenyan secondary school girls with incident STIs (composite of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis) to those who remained persistently negative for STIs and BV over 30 months of follow-up. We applied microbial network analysis to identify key taxa (i.e., those with the greatest connectedness in terms of linkages to other taxa), as measured by betweenness and eigenvector centralities, and sub-groups of clustered taxa. VMB networks of those who remained persistently negative reflected greater connectedness compared to the VMB from participants with STI. Taxa with the highest centralities were not correlated with relative abundance and differed between those with and without STI. Subject-level analyses indicated that sociodemographic (e.g., age and socioeconomic status) and behavioral (e.g., sexual activity) factors contribute to microbial network structure and may be of relevance when designing interventions to improve VMB health.
Source: Microorganisms
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,447
Funders: Department of Health and Social Care, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, National Institutes of Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Medical Research Council, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G4938474436, Menstrual cups, maturation of the adolescent vaginal microbiome, and STI/HIV risk, Menstrual cups and unconditional cash transfer to reduce sexual and reproductive harm and school drop-out in adolescent schoolgirls in western Kenya, G8284651135, Increased risk of STI and HIV among adolescent girls and young women due to COVID-19 and pandemic mitigation: Biological, behavioral, and psychosocial mediators
OpenAlex ID: W4385655030