Next Article in Journal
Incidence, Clinical Profile, and Cardiac Manifestations of MIS-C in Children in Kuwait
Previous Article in Journal
Influence of Scleral Contact Lenses on Optical Coherence Tomography Parameters in Keratoconus Patients
Previous Article in Special Issue
A Novel Serum-Based Bioassay for Quantification of Cancer-Associated Transformation Activity: A Case–Control and Animal Study
 
 
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Differences in Vaginal Microbiota Composition Between Infertile and Fertile Patients: A Prospective Study

1
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
2
Master and Ph.D. Programs in Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
3
Reproductive Health and IVF Center, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
4
Institute of Medical Sciences, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
5
Master Program in Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
6
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Diagnostics 2025, 15(19), 2544; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15192544
Submission received: 1 July 2025 / Revised: 9 September 2025 / Accepted: 30 September 2025 / Published: 9 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into the Diagnosis of Gynecological Diseases)

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiota, particularly the loss of Lactobacillus spp. dominance, is linked to female infertility. While community state types (CSTs) I–III and V have been studied extensively, CST IV remains underexplored. The aim of this prospective study was to compare vaginal microbiota composition—specifically CST IVA and IVB—between fertile and infertile women. Methods: Vaginal samples were collected from 22 women (15 infertile, 7 fertile) using cervical brushes and analyzed via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. DNA was extracted, and V3–V4 regions were sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Taxonomic classification was performed with QIIME 2 and the Greengenes database. Differences in microbial composition were assessed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test (p < 0.05) in SPSS v21.0. Results: Infertile women showed lower relative abundances of Lactobacillus spp. (31.54% vs. 42.32%) and Oscillospira spp. relative to fertile women. CST IV was more frequent in the infertile group (29.75% vs. 21.61%). Within CST IV, CST IVA accounted for a higher proportion in infertile women (7.0% vs. 0.94%), with Prevotella spp. representing 95.18% of CST IVA in infertile subjects, as opposed to the figure of 69.77% in fertile counterparts. No clear differences in CST IVB were observed between groups. Conclusions: Increased prevalence of Prevotella spp. in CST IVA may contribute to an unfavorable vaginal environment in infertile women, potentially affecting sperm viability. The presence of Oscillospira spp. in fertile women suggests it is associated with a healthy vaginal microbiota profile.
Keywords: infertility; lactobacillus; vaginal microbiota; 16S rRNA gene infertility; lactobacillus; vaginal microbiota; 16S rRNA gene

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Chen, P.-C.; Chen, S.-F.; Hung, W.-T.; Lin, Y.-Y.; Lin, L.-C.; Wang, J.-H.; Chen, P.-C. Differences in Vaginal Microbiota Composition Between Infertile and Fertile Patients: A Prospective Study. Diagnostics 2025, 15, 2544. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15192544

AMA Style

Chen P-C, Chen S-F, Hung W-T, Lin Y-Y, Lin L-C, Wang J-H, Chen P-C. Differences in Vaginal Microbiota Composition Between Infertile and Fertile Patients: A Prospective Study. Diagnostics. 2025; 15(19):2544. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15192544

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chen, Pei-Chen, Shih-Fen Chen, Wei-Tung Hung, Yu-Ying Lin, Ling-Chun Lin, Jen-Hung Wang, and Pao-Chu Chen. 2025. "Differences in Vaginal Microbiota Composition Between Infertile and Fertile Patients: A Prospective Study" Diagnostics 15, no. 19: 2544. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15192544

APA Style

Chen, P.-C., Chen, S.-F., Hung, W.-T., Lin, Y.-Y., Lin, L.-C., Wang, J.-H., & Chen, P.-C. (2025). Differences in Vaginal Microbiota Composition Between Infertile and Fertile Patients: A Prospective Study. Diagnostics, 15(19), 2544. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15192544

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop