ReviewFrontiers in physiology2015
Antimicrobial and immune modulatory effects of lactic acid and short chain fatty acids produced by vaginal microbiota associated with eubiosis and bacterial vaginosis.
Review in Frontiers in physiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06978907 (Evaluation of the Efficacy and Safety of Lactobacillus Crispatus M247), which is not on this map. Cited by 230 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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 and Safety of Lactobacillus Crispatus M247 (Crispact®) in Combination With Vaginal Laser Therapy for Improving Vaginal Microbiota Composition and Symptomatology in Menopausal Women With Atrophic Vulvovaginitis: A Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial
Who cites it
230 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 388 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reproductive tract and follicular fluid microbiota and probiotic interventions in IVF/ICSI outcomes: a systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- The Effect of Exogenous Sex Steroids on the Vaginal Microbiota: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Pooled it
- Effectiveness of vaginal probioticsAging · 2024Trial
- Efficacy ofNutrients · 2024Trial
- Intravaginal lactic acid gel versus oral metronidazole for treating women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis: the VITA randomised controlled trial.BMC women's health · 2023Trial
- The association of Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium infection with the vaginal metabolome.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- Antimicrobial and inflammatory properties of South African clinical Lactobacillus isolates and vaginal probiotics.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- The cervicovaginal gut microbiota axis as a key determinant of systemic physiology.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- The cervicovaginal microbiome: an emerging determinant of HPV infection and disease.Journal of virology · 2026Review
- The Impact of the Vaginal Microbiome and Microbial Metabolites on HIV Transmission at the Female Reproductive Tract Epithelial Barrier.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- Transkingdom interactions between HPV and the microbiome in the female reproductive tract: Gaps, challenges, and emerging perspectives.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Lactobacillus fermentum 2-14 mitigates the cytotoxicity induced by methylglyoxal by activating the AMPK-autophagy signaling axis.NPJ science of food · 2026Article
- The Gut-Vagina Axis.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- The proteinaceous biofilm ofBiofilm · 2026Article
- Vaginal microbiome and inflammation cytokines among Chinese women.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Article
- Decoding the microbial landscape of endometrial cancer: a case-control study.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Elucidation of vaginal microbiota of women associated with bacterial vaginosis from Northern region of India.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Co-occurrence of Candida albicans and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Lactobacillus-Deficient HIV-Negative Adolescent Girls and Young women.Mycopathologia · 2026Article
- Bacterial Load ofMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- The vaginal microbiome in pregnancy and preterm birth: mechanisms, disparities, and therapeutic opportunities.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Review
170 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
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Lactic acid and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by vaginal microbiota have reported antimicrobial and immune modulatory activities indicating their potential as biomarkers of disease and/or disease susceptibility. In asymptomatic women of reproductive-age the vaginal microbiota is comprised of lactic acid-producing bacteria that are primarily responsible for the production of lactic acid present at ~110 mM and acidifying the vaginal milieu to pH ~3.5. In contrast, bacterial vaginosis (BV), a dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiota, is characterized by decreased lactic acid-producing microbiota and increased diverse anaerobic bacteria accompanied by an elevated pH>4.5. BV is also characterized by a dramatic loss of lactic acid and greater concentrations of mixed SCFAs including acetate, propionate, butyrate, and succinate. Notably women with lactic acid-producing microbiota have more favorable reproductive and sexual health outcomes compared to women with BV. Regarding the latter, BV is associated with increased susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV. In vitro studies demonstrate that lactic acid produced by vaginal microbiota has microbicidal and virucidal activities that may protect against STIs and endogenous opportunistic bacteria as well as immune modulatory properties that require further characterization with regard to their effects on the vaginal mucosa. In contrast, BV-associated SCFAs have far less antimicrobial activity with the potential to contribute to a pro-inflammatory vaginal environment. Here we review the composition of lactic acid and SCFAs in respective states of eubiosis (non-BV) or dysbiosis (BV), their effects on susceptibility to bacterial/viral STIs and whether they have inherent microbicidal/virucidal and immune modulatory properties. We also explore their potential as biomarkers for the presence and/or increased susceptibility to STIs.
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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.