ArticleJournal of reproductive immunology2022
Gardnerella vaginalis induces matrix metalloproteinases in the cervicovaginal epithelium through TLR-2 activation.
Article in Journal of reproductive immunology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of emergency/nonemergency cervical cerclage on the vaginal microbiome of pregnant women with cervical incompetence.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Trial
- Multiomic analysis reveals that polyamines alter G. vaginalis-induced cervicovaginal epithelial cell dysfunction.Research square · 2026Article
- CD11c+ myeloid cells are the predominant CD4+CCR5+ immune population in the foreskin and are increased in men with HIV-associated penile anaerobes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles: New Hype or Hope to Explain Reproductive Host-Microbiota Interactions.Journal of extracellular vesicles · 2026Review
- Anaerobe-Driven Inflammation and Epithelial Barrier Disruption in Genital HIV Acquisition.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- Integrated cross-sectional study and functional validation indicate the association of lactobacillus crispatus-derived D-lactic acid with cervical gene expression and precancerous cervical lesions.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Vaginal dysbiosis and inflammatory signatures in preterm labor: an integrated model for predicting preterm birth.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Vaginal Microecological Imbalance, Human Papillomavirus Infection, and Cervical Carcinogenesis: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications.International journal of general medicine · 2026Review
- Inflammatory landscape ofFrontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Increased vaginalmSystems · 2025Article
- Mobiluncus mulieris alters the transcriptomic profile of cervicovaginal epithelial cells, shedding light on molecular drivers of adverse reproductive outcomes.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Article
- Collagen turnover during cervical remodeling involves both intracellular and extracellular collagen degradation pathways†.Biology of reproduction · 2025Article
- Advances in the interrelated nature of vaginal microecology, HPV infection, and cervical lesions.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Review
- Vaginal microbiota in term pregnant women with differences in cervical ripeness revealed by 2bRAD-M.BMC microbiology · 2024Article
- The role of neighborhood deprivation in the cervicovaginal microbiota.American journal of obstetrics & gynecology MFM · 2024Article
- Vaginal microbiota of pregnant women withFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
- Impact of exposure to air pollution on cervicovaginal microbial communities.Environmental research · 2023Article
- Interactions between microbiota and cervical epithelial, immune, and mucus barrier.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Lactobacillus-deficient cervicovaginal microbiota, including Gardnerella vaginalis, are implicated in cervical remodeling and preterm birth. Mechanisms by which microbes drives outcomes are not fully elucidated. We hypothesize that Gardnerella vaginalis induces matrix metalloproteinases through TLR-2, leading to epithelial barrier dysfunction and premature cervical remodeling. Cervicovaginal cells were treated with live Gardnerella vaginalis or Lactobacillus crispatus or their bacteria-free supernatants for 24 h. For TLR-2 experiments, cells were pretreated with TLR-2 blocking antibody. A Luminex panel was run on cell media. For human data, we conducted a case-control study from a prospective pregnancy cohort of Black individuals with spontaneous preterm (sPTB) (n = 40) or term (n = 40) births whose vaginal microbiota had already been characterized. Cervicovaginal fluid was obtained between 20 and 24 weeks' gestation. Short cervix was defined as < 25 mm by second trimester transvaginal ultrasound. MMP-9 was quantified by ELISA. Standard analytical approaches were used to determine differences across in vitro conditions, as well as MMP-9 and associations with clinical outcomes. Gardnerella vaginalis induced MMP-1 in cervical cells (p = 0.01) and MMP-9 in cervical and vaginal (VK2) cells (p ≤ 0.001 for all). TLR-2 blockade mitigated MMP-9 induction by Gardnerella vaginalis. MMP-9 in cervicovaginal fluid is higher among pregnant individuals with preterm birth, short cervix, and Lactobacillus-deficient microbiota (p < 0.05 for all). MMP-9 is increased in the cervicovaginal fluid of pregnant individuals with subsequent sPTB. Our in vitro work ascribes a potential mechanism by which a cervicovaginal microbe, commonly associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, may disrupt the cervicovaginal epithelial barrier and promote premature cervical remodeling in spontaneous preterm birth.
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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.