Vaginal Bacteria and Proinflammatory Host Immune Mediators as Biomarkers of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Acquisition Risk Among African Women.

Background: Few investigations have assessed contributions of both vaginal bacteria and proinflammatory immune mediators to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) acquisition risk in a prospective cohort.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study of African women who participated in a randomized placebo-controlled trial of daily oral versus vaginal tenofovir-based preexposure prophylaxis for HIV infection. Vaginal concentrations of 23 bacterial taxa and 16 immune mediators were measured.

Dimensional versus conceptual incommensurability in the social and behavioral sciences.

This commentary analyzes the extent to which the incommensurability problem can be resolved through the proposed alternative method of integrative experiment design. We suggest that, although one aspect of incommensurability is successfully addressed (), the proposed design space method does not yet alleviate another major source of discontinuity, which we call .

Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Suppression With Valacyclovir Is Not Associated With Changes in Nugent Score or Absolute Abundance of Key Vaginal Bacteria.

Background: In women, genital herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection is associated with increased risk for recurrent bacterial vaginosis (BV), but causal relationships are unclear.

Methods: Women with a self-reported history of BV and HSV-2 seropositivity self-collected vaginal and anogenital swabs for 2 nonconsecutive 28-day periods, in the absence or presence of valacyclovir suppressive therapy (500 mg daily). HSV polymerase chain reaction was performed on anogenital swabs; vaginal swabs were used for assessment of BV by Nugent score and quantification of vaginal microbiota.

Influence of Intramuscular Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Initiation on Vaginal Microbiota in the Postpartum Period.

Background: The vaginal microbiome plays a key role in women's reproductive health. Use of exogenous hormones, such as intramuscular depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-IM), may alter the composition of vaginal bacterial community.

Methods: Vaginal swab samples were collected from postpartum Kenyan women initiating DMPA-IM or nonhormonal contraception (non-HC).

Vaginal Bacteria and Risk of Incident and Persistent Infection With High-Risk Subtypes of Human Papillomavirus: A Cohort Study Among Kenyan Women.

Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is associated with an increased risk of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV), whereas Lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiotas are associated with reduced burden of hrHPV. Few epidemiologic studies have prospectively investigated the relationships between vaginal bacteria and hrHPV, particularly among women from countries in Africa.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study nested within the Preventing Vaginal Infections trial to evaluate associations between vaginal bacteria and hrHPV incidence and persistence.

Genetic Variation in Toll-Like Receptor 5 and Colonization with Flagellated Bacterial Vaginosis-Associated Bacteria.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a vaginal dysbiotic condition linked to negative gynecological and reproductive sequelae. Flagellated bacteria have been identified in women with BV, including spp. and BV-associated bacterium-1 (BVAB1), an uncultivated, putatively flagellated species.

"Microbiota, symbiosis and individuality summer school" meeting report.

How does microbiota research impact our understanding of biological individuality? We summarize the interdisciplinary summer school on "Microbiota, symbiosis and individuality: conceptual and philosophical issues" (July 2019), which was supported by a European Research Council starting grant project "Immunity, DEvelopment, and the Microbiota" (IDEM). The summer school centered around interdisciplinary group work on four facets of microbiota research: holobionts, individuality, causation, and human health. The conceptual discussion of cutting-edge empirical research provided new insights into microbiota and highlights the value of incorporating into meetings experts from other disciplines, such as philosophy and history of science.

Changes in key vaginal bacteria among postpartum African women initiating intramuscular depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate.

Background: The ECHO trial has relieved apprehension about intramuscular depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-IM), however it is still important to understand how DMPA-IM affects the vaginal environment. We sought to describe how DMPA-IM initiation influences vaginal bacteria associated with HIV acquisition in postpartum women.

Methods: Vaginal swabs were collected for Nugent score determination and taxon-specific quantitative PCR of eight bacteria.

Is it ever morally permissible to select for deafness in one's child?

As reproductive genetic technologies advance, families have more options to choose what sort of child they want to have. Using preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), for example, allows parents to evaluate several existing embryos before selecting which to implant via in vitro fertilization (IVF). One of the traits PGD can identify is genetic deafness, and hearing embryos are now preferentially selected around the globe using this method.

Specific Vaginal Bacteria Are Associated With an Increased Risk of Trichomonas vaginalis Acquisition in Women.

Background: While bacterial vaginosis has been associated with an increased risk of Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) acquisition, it is unknown whether other characteristics of the vaginal microbiota, including the presence of key bacterial species, influence a woman's risk of TV acquisition.

Methods: The vaginal microbiota before 25 unique episodes of TV infection involving 18 women was compared to that of 50 controls who remained uninfected. TV was detected by transcription-mediated amplification.