Characterization of the Vaginal Microbiome in Women with Infertility and Its Potential Correlation with Hormone Stimulation during <i>In Vitro</i> Fertilization Surgery
Changying Zhao, Zefeng Wei, Junjie Yang, Jiaming Zhang, Chunna Yu, Aijun Yang, Min Zhang, Lin Zhang, Ye Wang, Xiaofeng Mu, Xueyuan Heng, Huijun Yang, Zhongtao Gai, Xuenan Wang, Lei Zhang
Abstract
The microbiome had been hypothesized to be involved in the physiology and pathophysiology of assisted reproduction before the first success in IVF, while the data supporting or refuting this hypothesis were less than conclusive. Thanks to sequencing data from the 16S rRNA subunit, we characterized the microbiome in the reproductive tract of infertile women, and we found that changes in the vaginal microbiome are related to female infertility. We also found that the characteristic microbiome bacteria are mainly members of several genera and that the vaginal microbiome of infertile women is not sensitive to hormonal changes during IVF. In conclusion, our report provides data that can be used for discovering the role of the vaginal microbiome in patients suffering from secondary infertility.