Human papillomavirus molecular prevalence in south China and the impact on vaginal microbiome of unvaccinated women.

The vaginal microbiome (VM) is associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and progression, but a thorough understanding of the relation between HPV infection, and VM needs to be elucidated. From August to December 2022, women who underwent routine gynecological examinations were screened for HPV infection. The distribution of HPV variants and clinical characteristics were collected. Then, a total of 185 participants were enrolled and divided into HPV-negative (HC), high-risk HPV (H), low-risk HPV (L), multiple high-risk HPV (HH), and mixed high-low risk HPV (HL) groups. Samples were collected from the mid-vagina of these 185 participants and sent for 16S rDNA sequencing (V3-V4 region). Among 712 HPV-positive women, the top 3 most frequently detected genotypes were HPV52, HPV58, and HPV16. Among 185 participants in the microbiology study, the β diversity of the HC group was significantly different from HPV-positive groups ( IMPORTANCE: In this study, we first investigated the prevalence of different HPV genotypes in south China, which could provide more information for HPV vaccinations. Then, a total of 185 subjects were selected from HPV-negative, high-risk, low-risk, multiple hr-hr HPV infection, and mixed hr-lr HPV infection populations to explore the vaginal microbiome changes. This study displayed that HPV52, HPV58, and HPV16 were the most prevalent high-risk variants in south China. In addition, high-risk HPV infection was featured by