The Evolving Facets of Bacterial Vaginosis: Implications for HIV Transmission

Lyle R McKinnon, Sharon L Achilles, Catriona S Bradshaw, Adam Burgener, Tania Crucitti, David N Fredricks, Heather B Jaspan, Rupert Kaul, Charu Kaushic, Nichole Klatt, Douglas S Kwon, Jeanne M Marrazzo, Lindi Masson, R Scott McClelland, Jacques Ravel, Janneke H H M van de Wijgert, Lenka A Vodstrcil, Gilda Tachedjian

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

179 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common yet poorly understood vaginal condition that has become a major focus of HIV transmission and immunology research. Varied terminologies are used by clinicians and researchers to describe microbial communities that reside in the female reproductive tract (FRT), which is driven, in part, by microbial genetic and metabolic complexity, evolving diagnostic and molecular techniques, and multidisciplinary perspectives of clinicians, epidemiologists, microbiologists, and immunologists who all appreciate the scientific importance of understanding mechanisms that underlie BV. This Perspectives article aims to clarify the varied terms used to describe the cervicovaginal microbiota and its "nonoptimal" state, under the overarching term of BV. The ultimate goal is to move toward language standardization in future literature that facilitates a better understanding of the impact of BV on FRT immunology and risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)219-228
Number of pages10
JournalAIDS Research and Human Retroviruses
Volume35
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Cytokines/metabolism
  • Disease Susceptibility/microbiology
  • Disease Transmission, Infectious
  • Female
  • HIV Infections/transmission
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Inflammation/immunology
  • Lactobacillus/immunology
  • Microbiota/genetics
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
  • Risk
  • Terminology as Topic
  • Vagina/immunology
  • Vaginosis, Bacterial/immunology

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Evolving Facets of Bacterial Vaginosis: Implications for HIV Transmission'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this