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Detection of Methanobrevibacter smithii in vaginal samples collected from women diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis

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Abstract

Vaginosis is a dysbiotic condition of the vaginal cavity that has deleterious effects during pregnancy. The role of methanogens in this disease is unknown since current methods of investigation are not appropriate for the search of methanogens. We prospectively investigated the presence of methanogens in vaginal specimens collected from 33 women thereafter diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis and 92 women thereafter diagnosed without bacterial vaginosis (control group) by direct microscopic examination and fluorescent in situ hybridization, PCR-sequencing, and real-time PCR and isolation and culture. These investigations found only one methanogen, Methanobrevibacter smithii, exclusively in 97% bacterial vaginosis specimens and in two intermediate microbiota specimens. M. smithii was detected microscopically in 2/20 specimens analyzed, by PCR-based observations in 34/125 specimens with 99% sequence similarity with the reference 16S rRNA and mcrA gene sequences and was cultured in 9/40 specimens. These data suggest that the detection of M. smithii could be used as a biomarker for the laboratory diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis.

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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Magdalen Lardière for English correction.

Funding

This study was funded by the IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.

GG benefits from a PhD grant from the Fondation Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France. This work was supported by the French Government under the «Investissements d’avenir» (Investments for the Future) program managed by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR, fr: National Agency for Research), (reference: Méditerranée Infection 10-IAHU-03).

This work was supported by Région Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur and European funding FEDER PA 0000319 IHUBIOTK.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MEPHI, IRD, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France

    Ghiles Grine, Didier Raoult & Michel Drancourt

  2. IHU Méditerranée Infection, UMR MEPHI, 19-21, Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France

    Ghiles Grine, Didier Raoult & Michel Drancourt

  3. VITROME, IRD, AP-HM, IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France

    Hortense Drouet & Florence Fenollar

  4. Gynecology Department, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France

    Florence Bretelle

Authors
  1. Ghiles Grine
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  2. Hortense Drouet
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  3. Florence Fenollar
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  4. Florence Bretelle
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  5. Didier Raoult
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  6. Michel Drancourt
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Contributions

GG performed detection of methanogens, analyzed the data, and drafted the manuscript. HD took care of the patients and collected specimens. FF designed the study, analyzed the data, and drafted the manuscript. FB designed the study and took care of the patients. DR designed the study, analyzed the data, and drafted the manuscript. MD designed the study, analyzed the data, and drafted the manuscript.

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michel Drancourt.

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Conflict of interest

GG, FF, DR, and MD are co-inventors of a patent on the molecular detection of M. smithii for the diagnosis of BV.

Ethical approval

The study was authorized by the local Institut Fédératif de Recherche 48 Ethics Committee (Marseille, France) under agreement number 09-022.

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All patients studied in this report have signed an informed consent.

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Grine, G., Drouet, H., Fenollar, F. et al. Detection of Methanobrevibacter smithii in vaginal samples collected from women diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 38, 1643–1649 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-019-03592-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-019-03592-1

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