Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cytolytic vaginosis (CV) is a common disease that results in pruritus, dyspareunia, and vulvar dysuria. However, the pathological mechanisms of the disease are still unclear. Compared to traditional methods, high-throughput sequencing can obtain more accurate qualitative and quantitative information on the microbiome. METHODS: We collected 75 samples from 32 healthy women (average age 44 ± 8) and 43 patients with CV (average age 38 ± 8). We used high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA V3-V4 region to characterize and compare the vaginal microbiota of patients with CV and healthy women and to identify potential biomarkers for CV. RESULTS: The vaginal pH of patients with CV was ≤3.8, and the vaginal concentration of H(2) O(2) was ≥2 μmol/L. Colony densities of Lactobacillus spp. in patients with CV ranged from +++ (5-30) to ++++ (>30) and were significantly higher than those in healthy women. High-throughput sequencing showed that Lactobacillus was the most prominent genus both in patients with CV and in healthy women, with abundances of 83.8% and 97.2%, respectively (P < 0.001). Lactobacillus crispatus was more abundant in patients with CV, whereas Lactobacillus sp. L-YJ was more abundant in healthy women, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.9375 and 0.8379, respectively. CONCLUSION: The abundance of Lactobacillus spp. in CV patients was significantly different from that of healthy patients. Two suitable biomarkers, L. crispatus and Lactobacillus sp. L-YJ, were identified. These results will be useful for the identification of women at risk of serious illness before they develop obvious symptoms.