Analysis of Metagenomic Sequencing Characteristics of Vaginal Microbiota in Vaginal Inflammatory Diseases

Vaginitis is a benign disease that affects women. Due to various pathogenic bacteria, different types of vaginitis have their own characteristics and treatment methods. This study aims to investigate whether different types of vaginitis are associated with distinct microbiota in the female reproductive tract and whether bacteria may have specific functions. This is a cross-sectional study involving 53 participants (vaginitis patients, n = 40; healthy women, n = 13) who visited the gynecology clinic of Peking University People’s Hospital for examination. Vaginal secretions were collected from each participant, and samples were used for metagenomic sequencing. Our results demonstrate that patients with various types of vaginitis exhibited increased vaginal microbiota diversity. The vaginal microbiota of patients with AV (aerobic vaginitis) is mainly composed of Streptococcus, Enterococcus, and Prevotella. Mobiluncus mulieris is an important biomarker for patients in the AV_BV (aerobic vaginitis and bacterial vaginosis) group. CARD (Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database) analysis among the healthy, AV, AV_BV, and BV groups showed that the relative abundance of the resistance gene efrB in the healthy group was significantly higher than in the other vaginitis groups. The relative abundance of the immune modulation-related virulence factor LOS (lipo-oligosaccharide, virulence factor, VF0044) in the healthy group was significantly lower than in the AV, AV_BV, and BV groups. Microbial composition analysis identified prominent BV-associated bacterial components in the AV_BV and VVC_BV (vulvovaginal candidiasis and bacterial vaginosis) groups. The antibiotic resistance genes in the microbiota urgently require clinical attention.