(212) Implication of cervical microbiomes including DNA Viromes in patients with cervical insufficiency

Cervical microbiomes and viromes have been associated with cervical insufficiency (CI) and pregnancy maintenance. These factors are incompletely understood. This study aimed to investigate them in pregnant women, with a specific focus on patients with CI.

Study Design: A total of 232 cervical swab samples from 116 pregnant women were collected from the endocervix and exocervix. The location of the endocervix is around the internal cervical os and the exocervix is near the vaginal fornix. The participants were categorized into three groups: normal, prophylactic cerclage, and cervical insufficiency (CI) groups. DNA shotgun sequencing and two analytical approaches, Kraken2 and de novo assembly, were applied to reveal a comprehensive overview of cervical microbiomes and viromes in pregnant women.

Results:

Our results indicated significant differences in evenness and richness for alpha diversity between the endocervix and exocervix, as well as between the normal and CI groups, suggesting the influence of different cervical regions and the potential impact of CI on microbiome diversity. Beta-diversity analysis further elucidated the significance of cervical location and patient groups. (Figure 1). The utilization of both Kraken2 and de novo assembly approaches allowed us to characterize a diverse range of bacterial and viral species present in the cervix. Notably, de novo assembly revealed the presence of several DNA viruses, including bacteriophages, human papillomaviruses, and human herpesviruses. Furthermore, we annotated de novo assembled contigs according to KEGG, COG, and Pfam databases, revealing enriched functions regulated by different groups of microbiomes.

Conclusion: In conclusion, our study provides the data for cervical microbiomes and DNA viromes in pregnant women, especially for patients with CI. We focus on these factors to aid in the comprehensive understanding and therapeutic modulation of local microbial composition for enhancing safer and healthier pregnancies.