{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,3]],"date-time":"2026-11-03T12:48:15Z","timestamp":1793710095469,"version":"4.6.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100020884","name":"Agencia Nacional de Investigaci\u00f3n y Desarrollo","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["1261622"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1261622"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100020884","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["1261622"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1261622"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02ap3w078","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005916","name":"Universidad de La Frontera","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["PP24-0008"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PP24-0008"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005916","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["PP24-0008"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PP24-0008"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04v0snf24","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Vaginal dysbiosis, particularly bacterial vaginosis (BV), is associated with altered immune responses that may influence the formation of extracellular traps (ETs). This study aimed to characterize neutrophil and macrophage extracellular traps (NETs and METs) in vaginal discharge samples obtained from women with normal microbiota (NM) and BV, with particular emphasis on Gardnerella vaginalis (GV) detection. An ex vivo analysis was performed using vaginal smears from 14 patients previously classified according to the Nugent criteria. Immunofluorescence assays targeting neutrophil elastase (NE), citrullinated histone H3 (Citr-H3), CD15, and CD68 were conducted, and quantitative image analysis was performed using the TissueFAXS and StrataQuest platforms. NETs were classified into three morphotypes: spread (spr), diffuse (diff), and aggregated (agg). BV samples exhibited a substantially higher mean NET count than NM samples (842.43 vs. 91.86). The number of diffNETs was significantly higher in BV samples than in NM samples (p = 0.004), whereas GV-positive samples showed increased sprNET abundance compared with that in negative samples (248 vs. 8; p &lt; 0.05). CD68+ cell counts were significantly higher in BV samples (p = 0.026), whereas no significant differences in NE or Citr-H3 fluorescence intensity were observed between groups. MET structures were also identified, suggesting macrophage involvement in the local immune response. Collectively, these findings indicate that vaginal dysbiosis and GV presence are associated with enhanced NET formation and distinct morphotype distributions, supporting a role for ETs in the immunopathology of BV.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27135932","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T10:41:01Z","timestamp":1782902461000},"page":"5932","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Dynamics of Extracellular Traps in Vaginal Dysbiosis Associated with Gardnerella vaginalis: Ex Vivo Evidence from Neutrophils and Monocytes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2335-8588","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aurora","family":"Prado-Sanhueza","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral Program in Morphological Sciences, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, Chile"},{"name":"Center of Excellence in Translational Medicine-Scientific and Technological Bioresource, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4780000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ang\u00e9lica","family":"Melo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence in Translational Medicine-Scientific and Technological Bioresource, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4780000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8426-9530","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Isabel","family":"Iturrieta-Gonz\u00e1lez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence in Translational Medicine-Scientific and Technological Bioresource, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4780000, Chile"},{"name":"Department of Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4780000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5467-5009","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pablo","family":"Navarro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Chile, Temuco 4811230, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4840-0508","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fabiola","family":"Zambrano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence in Translational Medicine-Scientific and Technological Bioresource, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4780000, Chile"},{"name":"Department of Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4780000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9813","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-58654-y","article-title":"Aerobic Vaginitis, Bacterial Vaginosis, and Vaginal Candidiasis among Women of Reproductive Age in Arba Minch, Southern Ethiopia","volume":"14","author":"Aklilu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sci. 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