{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T00:25:32Z","timestamp":1785803132218,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]],"date-time":"2022-09-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1664236800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Pelvic floor electrical stimulation (ES) is an effective treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction. However, the impact of ES on vaginal microbiota and local inflammatory response is yet poorly understood. Therefore, we designed a longitudinal study to investigate the impact of ES on vaginal microbiota and cytokines. A total of 170 participants were recruited into the study at Peking University International Hospital, Beijing, China, from December 2021 to April 2022. They were divided into two groups concerning the follow-up: long-term cohort (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 147) following up to seven treatment sessions and short-term cohort (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 23) following up to 7\u00a0h after a 30-min treatment. Paired vaginal discharge samples were collected from 134 individuals. Vaginal microbiota was characterized by 16S rRNA sequencing, and local cytokines concentrations were detected by the cytometric bead array method. A significant increase in the relative abundance of <jats:italic>Lactobacillus<\/jats:italic> spp. was observed after ES treatment (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.001). In addition, <jats:italic>L. crispatus<\/jats:italic> (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> = 0.012) and <jats:italic>L. gasseri<\/jats:italic> (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> = 0.011) also increased significantly. Reduced microbial diversity was observed in the vaginal microbiota after the treatment. In the long-term cohort, a significant downregulation of IFN-\u03b3, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17A, and TNF-\u03b1 was compared with baseline. However, the short-term cohort presented with an elevated IL-6 level at 7\u00a0h after the treatment. In conclusion, this study suggested that transvaginal electrical stimulation might help to restore and maintain a healthy vaginal microbiota dominated by <jats:italic>Lactobacillus<\/jats:italic>, reducing the risk of vaginal inflammation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2022.1006576","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]],"date-time":"2022-09-27T06:11:26Z","timestamp":1664259086000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["The impact of pelvic floor electrical stimulation on vaginal microbiota and immunity"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Yakun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"He","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chi","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenlan","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guangwu","family":"Xiong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guolan","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2022.841723","article-title":"Local innate markers and vaginal microbiota composition are influenced by hormonal cycle phases","volume":"13","author":"Adapen","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Immunol."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"965","DOI":"10.1016\/j.immuni.2015.04.019","article-title":"Cervicovaginal bacteria are a major modulator of host inflammatory responses in the female genital tract","volume":"42","author":"Anahtar","year":"2015","journal-title":"Immunity"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/spectrum.02733-21","article-title":"Evaluation of modulatory activities of lactobacillus crispatus strains in the context of the vaginal microbiota","volume":"10","author":"Argentini","year":"2022","journal-title":"Microbiol. Spectr."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1089\/wound.2012.0410","article-title":"Bacterial inhibition by electrical stimulation","volume":"3","author":"Asadi","year":"2014","journal-title":"Adv. Wound Care (New Rochelle)"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"337","DOI":"10.2217\/fmb-2016-0204","article-title":"Cutaneous wound biofilm and the potential for electrical stimulation in management of the microbiome","volume":"12","author":"Ashrafi","year":"2017","journal-title":"Future Microbiol."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5578","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-020-19382-9","article-title":"Hormonal contraception alters vaginal microbiota and cytokines in south African adolescents in a randomized trial","volume":"11","author":"Balle","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1186\/s40168-021-01198-4","article-title":"Enhanced IgA coating of bacteria in women with lactobacillus crispatus-dominated vaginal microbiota","volume":"10","author":"Breedveld","year":"2022","journal-title":"Microbiome"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"822","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apmr.2016.12.009","article-title":"Effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation during hemodialysis on peripheral muscle strength and exercise capacity: A randomized clinical trial","volume":"98","author":"Bruggemann","year":"2017","journal-title":"Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.1038\/nmeth.f.303","article-title":"QIIME allows analysis of high-throughput community sequencing data","volume":"7","author":"Caporaso","year":"2010","journal-title":"Nat. Methods"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4662","DOI":"10.1128\/AAC.48.12.4662-4664.2004","article-title":"A radio frequency electric current enhances antibiotic efficacy against bacterial biofilms","volume":"48","author":"Caubet","year":"2004","journal-title":"Antimicrob. Agents Chemother."},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1186\/s12934-020-01464-4","article-title":"Vaginal microbiota and the potential of lactobacillus derivatives in maintaining vaginal health","volume":"19","author":"Chee","year":"2020","journal-title":"Microb. Cell Fact"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"629","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-020-05324-9","article-title":"Human papillomavirus infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia progression are associated with increased vaginal microbiome diversity in a Chinese cohort","volume":"20","author":"Chen","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMC Infect. Dis."},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2008","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-018-37891-y","article-title":"Electroceutical treatment of pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms","volume":"9","author":"Dusane","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"753","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1524-4725.1993.tb00420.x","article-title":"Electrical stimulation to heal dermal wounds","volume":"19","author":"Gentzkow","year":"1993","journal-title":"J. Dermatol. Surg. Oncol."},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"790","DOI":"10.1016\/j.immuni.2015.05.006","article-title":"Cervicovaginal microbiota: simple is better","volume":"42","author":"Gopinath","year":"2015","journal-title":"Immunity"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"494","DOI":"10.1101\/gr.112730.110","article-title":"Chimeric 16S rRNA sequence formation and detection in Sanger and 454-pyrosequenced PCR amplicons","volume":"21","author":"Haas","year":"2011","journal-title":"Genome Res."},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"42","DOI":"10.1186\/1475-925X-11-42","article-title":"Therapeutic electric stimulation does not affect immune status in healthy individuals - a preliminary report","volume":"11","author":"Kopitar","year":"2012","journal-title":"BioMed. Eng. Online"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/biot.202100156","article-title":"Sterilization of sealed PVDF pouches containing decellularized scaffold by electrical stimulation","volume":"16","author":"Lee","year":"2021","journal-title":"Biotechnol. J."},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0230170","article-title":"The rodent vaginal microbiome across the estrous cycle and the effect of genital nerve electrical stimulation","volume":"15","author":"Levy","year":"2020","journal-title":"PloS One"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/MD.0000000000019863","article-title":"Effect of different electrical stimulation protocols for pelvic floor rehabilitation of postpartum women with extremely weak muscle strength: Randomized control trial","volume":"99","author":"Li","year":"2020","journal-title":"Med. (Baltimore)"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2957","DOI":"10.1093\/bioinformatics\/btr507","article-title":"FLASH: fast length adjustment of short reads to improve genome assemblies","volume":"27","author":"Mago\u010d","year":"2011","journal-title":"Bioinformatics"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"555","DOI":"10.1111\/aji.12264","article-title":"Bacterial vaginosis and the cervicovaginal immune response","volume":"71","author":"Mitchell","year":"2014","journal-title":"Am. J. Reprod. Immunol."},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1999","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-020-15856-y","article-title":"The vaginal microbiota associates with the regression of untreated cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 lesions","volume":"11","author":"Mitra","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2021.730986","article-title":"Temporal changes in vaginal microbiota and genital tract cytokines among south African women treated for bacterial vaginosis","volume":"12","author":"Mtshali","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Immunol."},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"210","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cyto.2019.05.011","article-title":"Cytokine expression profiles in cervical mucus from patients with cervical cancer and its precursor lesions","volume":"120","author":"Otani","year":"2019","journal-title":"Cytokine"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":", 12949.9","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms8121949","article-title":"Distinct functional traits of lactobacilli from women with asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis and normal microbiota","volume":"8","author":"Pramanick","year":"2020","journal-title":"Microorganisms"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"D590","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gks1219","article-title":"The SILVA ribosomal RNA gene database project: improved data processing and web-based tools","volume":"41","author":"Quast","year":"2013","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Res."},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4680","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1002611107","article-title":"Vaginal microbiome of reproductive-age women","author":"Ravel","year":"2011","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"269","DOI":"10.1097\/SPV.0000000000000807","article-title":"A comparative study on the effects of high-intensity focused electromagnetic technology and electrostimulation for the treatment of pelvic floor muscles and urinary incontinence in parous women: Analysis of posttreatment data","volume":"27","author":"Silantyeva","year":"2021","journal-title":"Female Pelvic Med. Reconstr Surg."},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":", 8 a028456","DOI":"10.1101\/cshperspect.a028456","article-title":"Interleukin (IL-6) immunotherapy","volume":"10","author":"Tanaka","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Biol."},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2021.597431","article-title":"Effect of electroacupuncture on gut microbiota in participants with knee osteoarthritis","volume":"11","author":"Wang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Cell Infect. Microbiol."},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4537","DOI":"10.1111\/jocn.13790","article-title":"The effect of rehabilitation exercises combined with direct vagina low voltage low frequency electric stimulation on pelvic nerve electrophysiology and tissue function in primiparous women: A randomised controlled trial","volume":"26","author":"Yang","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Clin. Nurs."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fcimb.2022.1006576\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]],"date-time":"2022-09-27T06:11:33Z","timestamp":1664259093000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fcimb.2022.1006576\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]]},"references-count":32,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fcimb.2022.1006576"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fcimb.2022.1006576","relation":{},"ISSN":["2235-2988"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2235-2988","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]]},"article-number":"1006576"}}