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Reproductive disorders affect millions of people worldwide. As we uncover more of the causative factors driving these diseases, including the potential role the vaginal microbiome plays, the better we can devise treatments to address and minimise the extent to which these issues affect and harm those that suffer from them.
What we know:
Studies have shown vaginal microbiome composition to vary between those suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome and healthy individuals, with PCOS patient composition consisting of pathogenic bacterial species linked to diseases such as bacterial vaginosis (BV), and a reduced prevalence of beneficial Lactobacillus which helps to defend against infection (Tu et al., 2020)
Findings suggest vaginal microbiome transplants from healthy individuals have potential to alleviate symptoms of reproductive disorders like endometriosis by repopulating the dysbiotic space with a healthy vaginome and reducing the presence of symptoms associated with these conditions such as endometriotic lesions and inflammation (Lu et al., 2022)
Individuals with infertility are more likely to possess greater amounts of BV-associated bacteria characteristic of asymptomatic vaginosis and a lower amount of lactobacilli than non-infertile counterparts. The general vaginome composition also varies, with Candida & Enterococcus species being more prevalent in people with infertility, while healthy vaginas were dominated with Lactobacillus (Babu et al., 2017)
Vaginal microbiome dysbiosis has also been linked to cervical cancer. This is due to a prolonged exposure to a pathogenic environment that increase patient susceptibility to disorders such as aerobic vaginitis, chlamydia and BV, which may be associated with cervical carcinogenesis (Sekaran et al., 2023)
Industry impact & potential:
As more awareness is raised regarding reproductive health, many companies in the healthcare market are making use of microbiome science to devise treatments for these conditions. LUCA Biologics is seeking to develop microbiota-based solutions for microbiome restoration to treat disorders associated with is imbalance including preterm birth (PTB). Freya Biosciences is an emergent start-up utilising microbial immunotherapies to treat conditions such as infertility & endometriosis associated with a dysbiotic microbiome.
Our solution:
At Sequential, we have built a team of scientists who have spent the past 5 years studying the human microbiome carefully. We have advisors on our team, like Professor Phillip Bennett, who is a world leader in vaginal microbiome and pre-term birth. We have worked with over 60 clients globally, and we’re ready to work with your company on intimate female health applications, microbiome testing, an invivo and clinical certification, and formulation support.
References:
Babu G, Singaravelu BG, Srikumar R, Reddy SV, Kokan A. Comparative Study on the Vaginal Flora and Incidence of Asymptomatic Vaginosis among Healthy Women and in Women with Infertility Problems of Reproductive Age. J Clin Diagn Res. 2017 Aug;11(8):DC18-DC22. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2017/28296.10417. Epub 2017 Aug 1. PMID: 28969122; PMCID: PMC5620762.
Lu F, Wei J, Zhong Y, Feng Y, Ma B, Xiong Y, Wei K, Tan B, Chen T. Antibiotic Therapy and Vaginal Microbiota Transplantation Reduce Endometriosis Disease Progression in Female Mice via NF-κB Signaling Pathway. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Mar 30;9:831115. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.831115. PMID: 35433736; PMCID: PMC9005645.
Sekaran K, Varghese RP, Gopikrishnan M, Alsamman AM, El Allali A, Zayed H, Doss C GP. Unraveling the Dysbiosis of Vaginal Microbiome to Understand Cervical Cancer Disease Etiology-An Explainable AI Approach. Genes (Basel). 2023 Apr 18;14(4):936. doi: 10.3390/genes14040936. PMID: 37107694; PMCID: PMC10137380.
Tu Y, Zheng G, Ding G, Wu Y, Xi J, Ge Y, Gu H, Wang Y, Sheng J, Liu X, Jin L, Huang H. Comparative Analysis of Lower Genital Tract Microbiome Between PCOS and Healthy Women. Front Physiol. 2020 Sep 8;11:1108. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2020.01108. Erratum in: Front Physiol. 2021 Jan 18;11:635088. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2020.635088. PMID: 33013474; PMCID: PMC7506141.
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