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Amato V, Papaleo E, Pasciuta R, Viganò P, Ferrarese R, Clementi N, Sanchez AM, Quaranta L, Burioni R, Ambrosi A, Salonia A, Clementi M, Candiani M, Mancini N. Differential Composition of Vaginal Microbiome, but Not of Seminal Microbiome, Is Associated With Successful Intrauterine Insemination in Couples With Idiopathic Infertility: A Prospective Observational Study. Open Forum Infect Dis 2019; 7:ofz525. [PMID: 31915713 PMCID: PMC6942492 DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofz525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Vaginal and seminal microbiomes have gained increasing interest for their involvement in reproductive health and fertility. However, their role in reproductive outcome is not fully understood yet. In this study, we aimed to correlate the vaginal and the seminal microbiome of 23 couples with idiopathic infertility to the clinical pregnancy rate after intrauterine insemination (IUI). Methods Vaginal swabs and seminal fluids were collected on the day of IUI procedure and analyzed through polymerase chain reaction amplification of variable regions 3 and 4 (V3–V4) of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid genes and Illumina MiSeq sequencing. The taxonomic data were then correlated to IUI success. Results Idiopathic infertile women showed a different average composition of vaginal microbiome compared with control sequences, whereas for seminal counterpart no relevant differences were observed. Furthermore, among idiopathic infertile women, different patterns of Lactobacillus species dominations were observed, with a predominance either of Lactobacillus crispatus, a marker of a healthy vaginal ecosystem, or of Lactobacillus iners and Lactobacillus gasseri, associated with a more dysbiosis-prone environment. More important, considering all investigated variables, vaginal L crispatus domination was the only factor strongly associated to IUI success (P = .0002). Conclusions Our results strengthen the potential role of L crispatus in promoting a favorable environment for pregnancy and suggest that microbiome characterization could be useful, together with standard clinical and laboratory assessments, in the pre-IUI evaluation of infertile couples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia Amato
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, "Vita-Salute" San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Enrico Papaleo
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Renée Pasciuta
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Paola Viganò
- Reproductive Sciences Laboratory, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Ferrarese
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Nicola Clementi
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, "Vita-Salute" San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Ana Maria Sanchez
- Reproductive Sciences Laboratory, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Lavinia Quaranta
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Burioni
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, "Vita-Salute" San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessandro Ambrosi
- Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, "Vita-Salute" San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Salonia
- Division of Experimental Oncology/Unit of Urology, URI, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Massimo Clementi
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, "Vita-Salute" San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Microbiology and Virology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Massimo Candiani
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, "Vita-Salute" San Raffaele University School of Medicine, IRCCS, Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Nicasio Mancini
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, "Vita-Salute" San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Microbiology and Virology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
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