Abstract
BackgroundThe presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) producing Lactobacillus in the vagina may play a role in controlling genital HIV-1 shedding. Sensitive molecular methods improve our ability to characterize the vaginal microbiota; however, they cannot characterize phenotype. We assessed the concordance of H2O2-producing Lactobacillus detected by culture with quantitative PCR (qPCR) detection of Lactobacillus species commonly assumed to be H2O2-producers.MethodsSamples were collected as part of a prospective cohort study of HIV-1 seropositive US women. Cervicovaginal lavage specimens were tested for L. crispatus and L. jensenii using 16S rRNA gene qPCR assays. Vaginal swabs were cultured for Lactobacillus and tested for H2O2-production. We calculated a kappa statistic to assess concordance between culture and qPCR.ResultsCulture and qPCR results were available for 376 visits from 57 women. Lactobacilli were detected by culture at 308 (82%) visits, of which 233 of 308 (76%) produced H2O2. L. crispatus and/or L. jensenii were detected at 215 (57%) visits. Concordance between detection of L. crispatus and/or L. jensenii by qPCR and H2O2-producing Lactobacillus by culture was 75% (kappa = 0.45).ConclusionsAmong HIV-1 seropositive women, there was a moderate level of concordance between H2O2-producing Lactobacillus detected by culture and the presence of L. crispatus and/or L. jensenii by qPCR. However, one-quarter of samples with growth of H2O2-producing lactobacilli did not have L. crispatus or L. jensenii detected by qPCR. This discordance may be due to the presence of other H2O2-producing Lactobacillus species.
Highlights
The presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) producing Lactobacillus in the vagina may play a role in controlling genital HIV-1 shedding
We sought to assess the concordance of H2O2-producing Lactobacillus detected by culture with presumptive H2O2-producing Lactobacillus species detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) among a cohort of HIV-seropositive women
L. crispatus was detected by quantitative PCR (qPCR) at 173 (46%) visits
Summary
The presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) producing Lactobacillus in the vagina may play a role in controlling genital HIV-1 shedding. We assessed the concordance of H2O2-producing Lactobacillus detected by culture with quantitative PCR (qPCR) detection of Lactobacillus species commonly assumed to be H2O2-producers. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) and BV-associated organisms have been associated with an increased risk of HIV-1 RNA genital tract shedding [1,2]. The presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) producing lactobacilli in the vagina has been associated with a reduced jensenii are two of the most commonly detected species of vaginal lactobacilli and the majority of strains have been found to produce H2O2 [5,6]. We sought to assess the concordance of H2O2-producing Lactobacillus detected by culture with presumptive H2O2-producing Lactobacillus species detected by quantitative PCR (qPCR) among a cohort of HIV-seropositive women
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