ArticleThe Journal of infectious diseases2014
Human α-amylase present in lower-genital-tract mucosal fluid processes glycogen to support vaginal colonization by Lactobacillus.
Article in The Journal of infectious diseases, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05944094 (Evaluation of the Efficacy of Chlorhexidine Use During the First Trimester as a Regulator of Vaginal Microbiota in Reducing Preterm Birth), which is not on this map. Cited by 126 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Evaluation of the Efficacy of Chlorhexidine Use During the First Trimester as a Regulator of Vaginal Microbiota in Reducing Preterm Birth
Who cites it
126 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 219 citations in OpenAlex.
- Feminine Intimate Hygiene: A Review of Healthy and Unhealthy Habits in Women.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Pooled it
- Vaginal Microbiota and Cytokines Among Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women in Clinical Trials of the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring and Oral Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate/Emtricitabine.Open forum infectious diseases · 2026Trial
- Impact of a multi-strain L. crispatus-based vaginal synbiotic on the vaginal microbiome: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Trial
- Vaginal microbiota and genitourinary menopausal symptoms: a cross-sectional analysis.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2017Trial
- Trial
- The cervicovaginal gut microbiota axis as a key determinant of systemic physiology.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Alterations in Vaginal Microbiota Associated with Pregnancy Outcomes in Dairy Cows Revealed by 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Elucidating the Staphylococcus aureus TSST-1 Regulatory Network as a Response to Vaginal pH.Molecular microbiology · 2026Article
- Vaginal microbiomes and their pertinent social context: a microbial ecological review proffering AMR-STI acquisition and emergence.Biology of sex differences · 2026Review
- Rethinking Vaginal Microbiome Resilience: A Conceptual Multi-Omic Framework.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Integrated analyses of metagenomics, metabolomics and culture-based assays reveal functional roles of gut microbiota in Felidae.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Article
- An Epidemiologic Review of Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals and Understudied Gynecologic Health Conditions Affecting Quality of Life.Current environmental health reports · 2026Review
- Ligand-binding properties of substrate binding proteins of a maltose uptake system inMicrobiology (Reading, England) · 2026Article
- Resource landscape shapes the composition and stability of the human vaginal microbiota.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Inflammation at the maternal-fetal interface: a perspective on interacting risk factors for preterm birth in sub-Saharan African women living with HIV.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Vaginal microbiota in assisted reproduction: determinants, dynamics, and impact on clinical outcomes.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- The human mycobiome: a critical yet understudied component of health and disease.Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2025Review
- Host-microbe interactions characterized by gene expression of cervical adhesion molecules, cytokines, and growth factors define the recurrence of bacterial vaginosis.Research square · 2025Article
- Host-independent synergism between Lactobacillus crispatus and other vaginal lactobacilli.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Discovering a new paradigm: Gut microbiota as a central modulator of sexual health.World journal of gastrointestinal pathophysiology · 2025Review
66 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Lactobacillus colonization of the lower female genital tract provides protection from the acquisition of sexually transmitted diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus, and from adverse pregnancy outcomes. While glycogen in vaginal epithelium is thought to support Lactobacillus colonization in vivo, many Lactobacillus isolates cannot utilize glycogen in vitro. This study investigated how glycogen could be utilized by vaginal lactobacilli in the genital tract. Several Lactobacillus isolates were confirmed to not grow in glycogen, but did grow in glycogen-breakdown products, including maltose, maltotriose, maltopentaose, maltodextrins, and glycogen treated with salivary α-amylase. A temperature-dependent glycogen-degrading activity was detected in genital fluids that correlated with levels of α-amylase. Treatment of glycogen with genital fluids resulted in production of maltose, maltotriose, and maltotetraose, the major products of α-amylase digestion. These studies show that human α-amylase is present in the female lower genital tract and elucidates how epithelial glycogen can support Lactobacillus colonization in the genital tract.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.