July 2024
Dr. Kim Capone, Lead educator of SHWI and Chief Science Officer for Vaginal Biome Science.
The vaginal microbiome is a complex ecosystem essential for maintaining vaginal health and preventing infections. Disturbances in the microbial balance known as dysbiosis, can lead to conditions like bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis, and other vaginal infections and their sequalae. Despite recognizing the presence of microbial communities in the vagina for centuries, the vaginal microbiome is significantly less well understood than the gut microbiome. One of the primary drivers for our VENUS research study is to begin to establish quantitative parameters of different microbes in the same way that we understand it in the gut microbiome.
Insights from gut microbiome demonstrate that imbalances in the quantity or type of microbes in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to diseases and conditions, including autism spectrum disorder, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, and small bowel cancers. Not surprisingly, we are early in our understanding of how microbial loads and specific species impact vaginal health and treatment outcomes.
The Role of Lactobacillus Diversity
Currently, we know the importance of a unique microbial balance in the vagina, with low diversity and a Lactobacillus-dominant community being markers of vaginal health. By example, recent studies support the need to understand not only the relative abundance of various vaginal microbes, but also the quantities. One study revealed that efficacy of metronidazole against Gardnerella vaginalis is lessened in microbiomes with comparatively higher levels of the common commensal Lactobacillus iners. Higher levels of L. iners sequester metronidazole from G. vaginalis and inhibit the intended antimicrobial effects. This finding is especially relevant for Black/African American women, who have a higher propensity for L. iners as their dominant Lactobacillus species.
We have worked for the last 24 months to develop our proprietary 54 target quantitative PCR vaginal microbiome test because we believe that it will be an invaluable tool for quantifying vaginal microbiota as compared to whole-genome sequencing (WGS), which offers comprehensive microbial profiling but not quantitative data. qPCR specifically measures the abundance of known microbes, making it ideal for studying microbial loads and their relationship to vaginal health.
To ensure that the VENUS study will accurately capture vaginal diagnoses, we will be leveraging both our proprietary 54-target qPCR vaginal microbiota test along with WGS to deepen our understanding of vaginal microbiomes across common vaginal conditions to improve diagnostics and treatment outcomes.
How to Participate
If you are a physician who diagnoses patients with vaginal conditions and are interested in collaborating with us to explore the many unknown links to the vaginal microbiome, we’d love to hear from you! We are currently conducting the VENUS registry study to assess the quantity and type of microbes present in vaginal microbiomes at diagnosis of 12 of the most common vaginal and vulvar conditions. If you would like to discuss our research, collaborations, and/or if you would like to participate as a Principal Investigator in our VENUS study, click here to schedule a short call.