Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37228662›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology2023

Comparative analysis of vaginal microbiota sampling using menstrual cups and high vaginal swabs in pregnant women living with HIV-1 infection.

Charlotte-Eve S Short, Rachael Quinlan, Yun S Lee, Veronica G Preda, Ann Smith, Julian R Marchesi, Robin Shattock, Phillip R Bennett, David A MacIntyre, Graham P Taylor

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 49% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Charlotte-Eve S ShortSection of Virology, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Rachael QuinlanSection of Virology, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Yun S LeeMarch of Dimes Prematurity Research Centre, Division of the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Department of Metabolism, Digestion, and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Veronica G PredaSection of Virology, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Ann SmithFaculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Julian R MarchesiMarch of Dimes Prematurity Research Centre, Division of the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Department of Metabolism, Digestion, and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Robin ShattockSection of Immunology of Infection, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Phillip R BennettSt Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom.
David A MacIntyreMarch of Dimes Prematurity Research Centre, Division of the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Department of Metabolism, Digestion, and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Graham P TaylorSection of Virology, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust · GBImperial College London · GBUniversity of the West of England · GB

Funding

Department of HealthMedical Research Council MR/L009226/1Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust WT/102757/Z/13/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Menstrual cups (MCs) are increasingly used to collect cervicovaginal secretions to characterise vaginal mucosal immunology, in conjunction with high vaginal swabs (HVS) for metataxonomics, particularly in HIV transmission studies. We hypothesised that both methods of collecting bacterial biomass are equivalent for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Material and Methods: Cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) samples from 16 pregnant women with HIV-1 (PWWH) were included to represent the major vaginal bacterial community state types (CST I-V). Women underwent sampling during the second trimester by liquid amies HVS followed by a MC (Soft disc™) and samples were stored at -80°C. Bacterial cell pellets obtained from swab elution and MC (500 µL, 1 in 10 dilution) were resuspended in 120 µL PBS for DNA extraction. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed using V1-V2 primers and were analysed using MOTHUR. Paired total DNA, bacterial load, amplicon read counts, diversity matrices and bacterial taxa were compared by sampling method using MicrobiomeAnalyst, SPSS and R. Results: The total DNA eluted from one aliquot of diluted CVF from an MC was similar to that of a HVS (993ng and 609ng, p=0.18); the mean bacterial loads were also comparable for both methods (MC: 8.0 log10 16S rRNA gene copies versus HVS: 7.9 log10 16S rRNA gene copies, p=0.27). The mean number of sequence reads generated from MC samples was lower than from HVS (MC: 12730; HVS:14830, p=0.05). The α-diversity metrices were similar for both techniques; MC Species Observed: 41 (range 12-96) versus HVS: 47 (range 16-96), p=0.15; MC Inverse Simpson Index: 1.98 (range 1.0-4.0) versus HVS: 0.48 (range 1.0-4.4), p=0.22). The three most abundant species observed were: Conclusion: These data demonstrate that despite sampling slightly different areas of the lower genital tract, there was no difference in bacterial load or composition between methods. Both are suitable for characterisation of vaginal microbiota in PWWH. The MC offers advantages, including a higher volume of sample available for DNA extraction and complimentary assays.

Indexed as

HIV-1HIV InfectionsMicrobiotaBacteriaFemaleHumansMenstrual Hygiene ProductsPregnancyPregnant PeopleRNA, Ribosomal, 16SVaginaRNA, Ribosomal, 16Scervicovaginal fluidHIVmenstrual cupmetataxonomicsmicrobiotasamplingswab

Identifiers

PMID37228662
PMCPMC10204588
OpenAlexW4378348356

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.