Characterization of the Vaginal Microbiome in Women with Infertility and Its Potential Correlation with Hormone Stimulation during <i>In Vitro</i> Fertilization SurgeryOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
Researchers compared the vaginal microbiome of women with secondary infertility undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) against matched healthy women. They also examined whether hormone stimulation during IVF altered this microbiome.
How was it studied?
The team recruited 30 patients with secondary infertility receiving IVF and 92 matched healthy women. Vaginal microbiome composition was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing across the menstrual cycle, including follicular and ovulation phases.
What did they find?
Infertile women had significantly lower microbiome diversity and richness than healthy women during the follicular (nonovulation) phase. Healthy women showed marked microbiome fluctuation at ovulation, but infertile women did not, and their vaginal microbiome did not change with GnRH agonist or r-hCG hormone stimulation. Infertile women also had increased Atopobium, Aerococcus, and Bifidobacterium, alongside decreased Lactobacillus and Leuconostoc.
Why it matters
These findings link specific vaginal microbiome shifts to secondary infertility and show that this microbiome is largely insensitive to IVF hormone stimulation. The data support further investigation into the vaginal microbiome's role in assisted reproduction outcomes.