Cervicovaginal microbiota – DOI: 10.37072/JCS.2022.02.04

Manole COJOCARU – Department of Physiology and Immunology, “Titu Maiorescu” University, Faculty of Medicine, Bucharest, Romania

Abstract
As known, vaginal microbiota is crucial for women’s health. Host–microbiome interac- tion is critical for numerous essential host functions. The composition of the vaginal mi- crobiota changes throughout a woman’s lifetime from birth, through puberty, reproductive
age and menopause.
The vagina contains a number of immune-related cells and receptors to help sense the microbial environment. Vaginal microbiota differs within individuals and between human populations. More than 50 microbial species have been described in the vaginal tract, do- minated by Lactobacillus species (70% of the total). Daily fluctuations in the composition of the vaginal microbiota have been previously documented by microscopy and cultivation
studies.
The vaginal microbiota is unique in that in many women it is most often dominated by Lactobacillus species. Therefore, vaginal bacteria, including species of Lactobacillus, can reduce or increase susceptibility to infectious agents.
The vaginal microbiota in combination with other factors is associated with adverse re- productive and obstetric outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to assess the interactions between the cervicovaginal microbiota, genital immunology.
Keywords:
cervicovaginal microbiome, lactobacillus, mucosal immunology, probiotics