Biochemical indicators and vaginal microecological abnormalities indicate the occurrence of intrauterine adhesions

Abstract

Intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) are important causes of female infertility, mainly but not always caused by iatrogenic endometrial injury. The microbiome of the female reproductive tract, including the vagina and uterine cavity, plays an important role in health and disease. Immune regulation imbalance caused by reproductive tract microecological disorders can act in the formation mechanism of IUAs. Here we collected clinical laboratory indicators, the vaginal secretions and uterine secretions of 6 women with and 8 women without IUAs, with a history of curettage. Vaginal and uterine cavity microbes were detected by high-throughput sequencing technology. Compared with the women without IUAs, the proportion of Lactobacillus in vaginal microbes was decreased and the proportion of Bacteroides was increased in the IUAs. The α-diversity index in the vaginal microbiome was significantly positively correlated with the hematocrit and erythrocyte count (P ＜0.05). These clinical and microbiological indicators could be used to indicate the occurrence of IUAs, so this study has clinical guiding significance for detecting and preventing them.