{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T15:43:08Z","timestamp":1785426188642,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775520000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775520000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100017594","name":"Medical Science and Technology Project of Zhejiang Province","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2024KY1557, 2025KY1425"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024KY1557, 2025KY1425"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100017594","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005315","name":"Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo Municipality","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2023J203"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023J203"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005315","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Zhejiang Province Disease Prevention and Control Program of China","award":["2025JK087"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025JK087"]}]},{"name":"Women's Health Care of Ningbo Key Medical Support Discipline","award":["2022-F27"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022-F27"]}]},{"name":"Key Discipline of Ningbo No.2 Hospital","award":["2023-Y07"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023-Y07"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Microbiol Spectr"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title\/>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      An imbalance of the vaginal microbiome and dysregulation of cytokines are associated with spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). To date, the relationship between the vaginal microbiome, cytokines, and sPTB remains unclear in the Chinese population. Herein, we conducted a nested case-control study using data from a prospective cohort of 749 Chinese women with a singleton pregnancy who were enrolled between 16 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. Cases consisted of individuals experiencing sPTB (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 38), while controls were selected randomly at a 4:1 ratio to cases (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 152). Compared to the term group, the sPTB group exhibited significantly increased abundance of vaginal\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Aerococcus christensenii<\/jats:italic>\n                      ,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Gardnerella swidsinskii<\/jats:italic>\n                      , and\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Lactobacillus iners<\/jats:italic>\n                      , along with elevated levels of interleukin (IL)-1\u03b2, IL-6, and IL-12p70 in vaginal fluid (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt; 0.05). Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression identified\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">L. iners<\/jats:italic>\n                      ,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">G. swidsinskii<\/jats:italic>\n                      , and IL-6 as significant risk factors for sPTB, with adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% CI) of 1.57 (1.06\u20132.34), 1.45 (1.03\u20132.05), and 2.05 (1.43\u20132.93), respectively. Finally, a logistic regression model for sPTB was established incorporating\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">L. iners<\/jats:italic>\n                      ,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">G. swidsinskii<\/jats:italic>\n                      , and IL-6, which yielded an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.73. These findings suggest that alterations in the vaginal microbiome and cytokine levels may contribute to sPTB in the Chinese population.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:sec>\n                      <jats:title>IMPORTANCE<\/jats:title>\n                      <jats:p>\n                        Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age, of which about 70% were spontaneous ones (sPTB); while genitourinary infections are implicated in 25\u201340% of sPTB cases. Previous studies have revealed some features of vaginal microbiome and cytokines related to sPTB: increased richness and diversity, increased levels of\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Lactobacillus iners<\/jats:italic>\n                        , BV-associated bacteria, low abundance of\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">L. crispatus<\/jats:italic>\n                        , and high levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, there were also some inconsistent findings, and little is known in the Chinese population. This study confirmed the correlations between vaginal microbiome, cytokines, and sPTB in Chinese pregnant women. Specifically, elevated vaginal\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">L. iners, G. swidsinskii<\/jats:italic>\n                        , and IL-6 levels were significantly associated factors, which may help to identify women at high risk of sPTB.\n                      <\/jats:p>\n                    <\/jats:sec>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/spectrum.02607-25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]],"date-time":"2026-02-27T14:02:36Z","timestamp":1772200956000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association of vaginal microbiome, cytokines, and spontaneous preterm birth among Chinese women: a nested case-control study"],"prefix":"10.1128","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Yefang","family":"Ke","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03et85d35","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of 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