N-Glycosylation of cervicovaginal fluid reflects microbial community, immune activity, and pregnancy status
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Human cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) is a complex, functionally important and glycan rich biological fluid, fundamental in mediating physiological events associated with reproductive health. Using a comprehensive glycomic strategy we reveal an extremely rich and complex N-glycome in CVF of pregnant and non-pregnant women, abundant in paucimannose and high
mannose glycans, complex glycans with 2-4 N-Acetyllactosamine (LacNAc) antennae, and Poly-LacNAc glycans decorated with fucosylation and sialylation. N-glycosylation variations were observed to differ in relation to pregnancy status, microbial composition, immune activation, and pregnancy outcome. Compared to CVF from women experiencing term birth, CVF from women who subsequently experienced preterm birth showed lower sialylation, which correlated to the presence of a diverse microbiome, and higher fucosylation, which correlated positively to pro-inflammatory cytokine concentration. This study is the first step towards better understanding the role of cervicovaginal glycans in reproductive health, their contribution to the mechanism of microbial driven preterm birth, and their potential for
preventative therapy.
mannose glycans, complex glycans with 2-4 N-Acetyllactosamine (LacNAc) antennae, and Poly-LacNAc glycans decorated with fucosylation and sialylation. N-glycosylation variations were observed to differ in relation to pregnancy status, microbial composition, immune activation, and pregnancy outcome. Compared to CVF from women experiencing term birth, CVF from women who subsequently experienced preterm birth showed lower sialylation, which correlated to the presence of a diverse microbiome, and higher fucosylation, which correlated positively to pro-inflammatory cytokine concentration. This study is the first step towards better understanding the role of cervicovaginal glycans in reproductive health, their contribution to the mechanism of microbial driven preterm birth, and their potential for
preventative therapy.
Date Issued
2022-10-10
Date Acceptance
2022-09-15
Citation
Scientific Reports, 2022, 12 (16948), pp.1-14
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Start Page
1
End Page
14
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Reports
Volume
12
Issue
16948
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Sponsor
March of Dimes
Identifier
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-20608-7
Grant Number
22-FY18-821
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
PAUCIMANNOSIDIC PROTEINS
MASS-SPECTROMETRY
CERVICAL-MUCUS
PRETERM LABOR
ROLES
INFLAMMATION
SECRETIONS
BACTERIA
BIRTH
INTERLEUKIN-8
Cytokines
Female
Glycosylation
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Mannose
Microbiota
Polysaccharides
Pregnancy
Premature Birth
Humans
Premature Birth
Mannose
Polysaccharides
Cytokines
Glycosylation
Pregnancy
Infant, Newborn
Female
Microbiota
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-10-10