Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Dec 23:10:609488.
doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.609488. eCollection 2020.

The Interaction Between Microorganisms, Metabolites, and Immune System in the Female Genital Tract Microenvironment

Huanrong Li  1   2 , Yuqin Zang  1   2 , Chen Wang  1   2 , Huiyang Li  1   2 , Aiping Fan  1   2 , Cha Han  1   2 , Fengxia Xue  1   2
Affiliations
Review

The Interaction Between Microorganisms, Metabolites, and Immune System in the Female Genital Tract Microenvironment

Huanrong Li et al. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. .

Abstract

The female reproductive tract microenvironment includes microorganisms, metabolites, and immune components, and the balance of the interactions among them plays an important role in maintaining female reproductive tract homeostasis and health. When any one of the reproductive tract microorganisms, metabolites, or immunity is out of balance, it will affect the other two, leading to the occurrence and development of diseases and the appearance of corresponding symptoms and signs, such as infertility, miscarriage, premature delivery, and gynecological tumors caused by infectious diseases of the reproductive tract. Nutrients in the female reproductive tract provide symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms with a source of nutrients for their own reproduction and utilization. At the same time, this interaction with the host forms a variety of metabolites. Changes in metabolites in the host reproductive tract are related not only to the interaction between the host and microbiota under dysbiosis but also to changes in host immunity or the environment, all of which will participate in the pathogenesis of diseases and lead to disease-related phenotypes. Microorganisms and their metabolites can also interact with host immunity, activate host immunity, and change the host immune status and are closely related to persistent genital pathogen infections, aggravation of infectious diseases, severe pregnancy outcomes, and even gynecological cancers. Therefore, studying the interaction between microorganisms, metabolites, and immunity in the reproductive tract cannot only reveal the pathogenic mechanisms that lead to inflammation of the reproductive tract, adverse pregnancy outcomes and tumorigenesis but also provide a basis for further research on the diagnosis and treatment of targets.

Keywords: female genital tract; immunity; metabolites; microbiota; microenvironment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Microenvironmental disorders of the female reproductive tract are closely related to inflammations, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and tumors. Modified from Paweł Łaniewski et al. (2020).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aagaard K., Ma J., Antony K. M., Ganu R., Petrosino J., Versalovic J. (2014). The placenta harbors a unique microbiome. Sci. Transl. Med. 6, 237ra265. 10.1126/scitranslmed.3008599 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abu-Lubad M., Meyer T. F., Al-Zeer M. A. (2014). Chlamydia trachomatis inhibits inducible NO synthase in human mesenchymal stem cells by stimulating polyamine synthesis. J. Immunol. 193, 2941–2951. 10.4049/jimmunol.1400377 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Agostinis C., Mangogna A., Bossi F., Ricci G., Kishore U., Bulla R. (2019). Uterine Immunity and Microbiota: A Shifting Paradigm. Front. Immunol. 10, 2387. 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02387 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Agrawal T., Bhengraj A. R., Vats V., Salhan S., Mittal A. (2011). Expression of TLR 2, TLR 4 and iNOS in cervical monocytes of Chlamydia trachomatis-infected women and their role in host immune response. Am. J. Reprod. Immunol. 66, 534–543. 10.1111/j.1600-0897.2011.01064.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ahmadi M. H., Mirsalehian A., Sadighi Gilani M. A., Bahador A., Talebi M. (2017). Asymptomatic Infection With Mycoplasma hominis Negatively Affects Semen Parameters and Leads to Male Infertility as Confirmed by Improved Semen Parameters After Antibiotic Treatment. Urology 100, 97–102. 10.1016/j.urology.2016.11.018 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources