{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T06:08:52Z","timestamp":1791266932035,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","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\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sport of the Slovak Republic","award":["VEGA 1\/0398\/21"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["VEGA 1\/0398\/21"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sport of the Slovak Republic","award":["ITMS 313011V446"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ITMS 313011V446"]}]},{"name":"project Lisper","award":["VEGA 1\/0398\/21"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["VEGA 1\/0398\/21"]}]},{"name":"project Lisper","award":["ITMS 313011V446"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ITMS 313011V446"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common malignancy and fourth leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. More than 99.7% of cases are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), while HPV types 16 and 18 cause over 70% of all cervical cancer cases. In this preliminary study, we aimed to investigate the presence of HPV infection and diversity of bacteria associated with bacterial vaginosis. Methods: Cervical swabs (n = 21) taken from women aged 21\u201347 years, in seventeen cases, with different degrees of cervical abnormality, and from four healthy women, were tested for the presence of HPV DNA, as well as the bacterial strains associated with bacterial vaginosis, using the real-time PCR method. Results: HPV16 was the dominant genotype in 53% (9\/17) of patients with confirmed precancerous lesions (ASCUS, LSIL, and HSIL). In specimens with confirmed cytological abnormalities and hrHPV infection, we detected a wide diversity of microbes, while the most common species were Gardnerella vaginalis, Atopobium vaginae, Prevotella bivia, Ureaplasma parvum, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Leptotrichia amnionii, Bacteroides ureolyticus, and Sneathia sanguinegens. The presence of pathogens did not differ, depending on the degree of precancerous lesions or HPV type. Conclusion: In our work, HPV16 dominated in patients with cervical precancerous lesions. We also suggest an increased bacterial diversity of the vaginal microbiome in patients with cervical lesions, for which the HPV virus is largely responsible.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v14102130","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,29]],"date-time":"2022-09-29T04:09:36Z","timestamp":1664424576000},"page":"2130","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["Is the Physiological Composition of the Vaginal Microbiome Altered in High-Risk HPV Infection of the Uterine Cervix?"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4585-9671","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tomas","family":"Rokos","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Kollarova 2, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5979-8358","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Veronika","family":"Holubekova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Oncology and Diagnostics, Biomedical Center Martin, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mala Hora 4C, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zuzana","family":"Kolkova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Oncology and Diagnostics, Biomedical Center Martin, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mala Hora 4C, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Hornakova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Oncology and Diagnostics, Biomedical Center Martin, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mala Hora 4C, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Terezia","family":"Pribulova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Kollarova 2, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erik","family":"Kozubik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Kollarova 2, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3471-0508","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kamil","family":"Biringer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Kollarova 2, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erik","family":"Kudela","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Kollarova 2, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"209","DOI":"10.3322\/caac.21660","article-title":"Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries","volume":"71","author":"Sung","year":"2021","journal-title":"CA Cancer J. Clin."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"602","DOI":"10.1080\/01443615.2019.1634030","article-title":"Human papillomavirus and cervical cancer","volume":"40","author":"Okunade","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Obstet. Gynaecol."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans (2007). Human papillomaviruses. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"806","DOI":"10.1002\/jcp.24808","article-title":"Gene expression changes in progression of cervical neoplasia revealed by microarray analysis of cervical neoplastic keratinocytes","volume":"230","author":"Rotondo","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Cell. Physiol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"307","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2020.00307","article-title":"Dysregulation of Stemness Pathways in HPV Mediated Cervical Malignant Transformation Identifies Potential Oncotherapy Targets","volume":"25","author":"Budhwani","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Luria, L., and Cardoza-Favarato, G. (2022). Human Papillomavirus. StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1789","DOI":"10.1086\/657321","article-title":"Cervical human papillomavirus prevalence in 5 continents: Meta-analysis of 1 million women with normal cytological findings","volume":"202","author":"Bruni","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2752","DOI":"10.1002\/ijc.29082","article-title":"EUROGIN 2014 roadmap: Differences in human papillomavirus infection natural history, transmission and human papillomavirus-related cancer incidence by gender and anatomic site of infection","volume":"136","author":"Giuliano","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Cancer"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"660","DOI":"10.1097\/OLQ.0000000000000193","article-title":"The estimated lifetime probability of acquiring human papillomavirus in the United States","volume":"41","author":"Chesson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Sex. Trans. Dis."},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Bruni, L., Albero, G., Serrano, B., Mena, M., Collado, J.J., G\u00f3mez, D., Mu\u00f1oz, J., Bosch, F.X., and de Sanjos\u00e9, S. (2021, October 22). ICO\/IARC Information Centre on HPV and Cancer (HPV Information Centre). Human Papillomavirus and Related Diseases in Czechia. Summary Report. Available online: https:\/\/hpvcentre.net\/statistics\/reports\/CZE.pdf."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1128\/microbiolspec.UTI-0025-2016","article-title":"The Vaginal Microbiota and Urinary Tract Infection","volume":"4","author":"Stapleton","year":"2016","journal-title":"Microbiol. Spectr."},{"key":"ref_12","first-page":"443","article-title":"Vaginal microbiota and viral sexually transmitted diseases","volume":"10","author":"Nardis","year":"2013","journal-title":"Ann. Ig. Med. Prev. Comunit\u00e0"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4680","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1002611107","article-title":"Vaginal microbiome of reproductive-age women","volume":"108","author":"Ravel","year":"2011","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1086\/375819","article-title":"Association between Acquisition of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 in Women and Bacterial Vaginosis","volume":"37","author":"Cherpes","year":"2003","journal-title":"Clin. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1863","DOI":"10.1086\/315127","article-title":"Vaginal Lactobacilli, Microbial Flora, and Risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 and Sexually Transmitted Disease Acquisition","volume":"180","author":"Martin","year":"1999","journal-title":"J. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"441","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2015-052285","article-title":"Identification of novel microbes associated with pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility","volume":"92","author":"Haggerty","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sex. Trans. Infect."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1907","DOI":"10.1086\/657320","article-title":"Bacterial Vaginosis Assessed by Gram Stain and Diminished Colonization Resistance to Incident Gonococcal, Chlamydial, and Trichomonal Genital Infection","volume":"202","author":"Brotman","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e22913","DOI":"10.5812\/jjm.22913","article-title":"Vaginal Protection by H2O2-Producing Lactobacilli","volume":"8","author":"Sgibnev","year":"2015","journal-title":"Jundishapur J. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1727","DOI":"10.1007\/s00262-010-0903-4","article-title":"Human papillomavirus type 16 E6-specific antitumor immunity is induced by oral administration of HPV16 E6-expressing Lactobacillus casei in C57BL\/6 mice","volume":"59","author":"Lee","year":"2010","journal-title":"Cancer Immunol. Immunother."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"645","DOI":"10.1007\/s00203-014-1003-1","article-title":"Bacteriocin production and gene sequencing analysis from vaginal Lactobacillus strains","volume":"196","author":"Stoyancheva","year":"2014","journal-title":"Arch. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1016\/j.virol.2013.05.038","article-title":"The papillomavirus major capsid protein L1","volume":"445","author":"Buck","year":"2013","journal-title":"Virology"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"357","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.38.1.357-361.2000","article-title":"Improved amplification of genital human papillomaviruses","volume":"38","author":"Gravitt","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.2353\/jmoldx.2006.050088","article-title":"DNA and RNA references for qRT-PCR assays in exfoliated cervical cells","volume":"8","author":"Steinau","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Mol. Diagn."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"224","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ab.2010.06.029","article-title":"Identification of suitable reference genes for measurement of gene expression in human cervical tissues","volume":"405","author":"Shen","year":"2010","journal-title":"Anal. Biochem."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e977","DOI":"10.1002\/mbo3.977","article-title":"Absolute quantitation of microbes using 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding: A rapid normalization of relative abundances by quantitative PCR targeting a 16S rRNA gene spike-in standard","volume":"9","author":"Zemb","year":"2020","journal-title":"Microbiologyopen"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"273","DOI":"10.1097\/LGT.0000000000000000","article-title":"mRNA expression in cervical specimens for determination of severe dysplasia or worse in HPV-16\/18-positive squamous lesions","volume":"18","author":"Janusicova","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Low. Genit. Tract Dis."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1016\/j.virol.2004.03.033","article-title":"Classification of papillomaviruses","volume":"324","author":"Fauquet","year":"2004","journal-title":"Virology"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"182","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tim.2016.11.007","article-title":"Lactobacillus iners: Friend or Foe?","volume":"25","author":"Petrova","year":"2017","journal-title":"Trends Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e00460-13","DOI":"10.1128\/mBio.00460-13","article-title":"Influence of vaginal bacteria and D- and L-lactic acid isomers on vaginal extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer: Implications for protection against upper genital tract infections","volume":"4","author":"Witkin","year":"2013","journal-title":"MBio"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104617","DOI":"10.1016\/j.micpath.2020.104617","article-title":"Cervicovaginal microbiota dysbiosis correlates with HPV persistent infection","volume":"152","author":"Qingqing","year":"2021","journal-title":"Microb. Pathog."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nicol\u00f2, S., Tanturli, M., Mattiuz, G., Antonelli, A., Baccani, I., Bonaiuto, C., Baldi, S., Nannini, G., Menicatti, M., and Bartolucci, G. (2021). Vaginal Lactobacilli and Vaginal Dysbiosis-Associated Bacteria Differently Affect Cervical Epithelial and Immune Homeostasis and Anti-Viral Defenses. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 22.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms22126487"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2248","DOI":"10.4049\/jimmunol.1400216","article-title":"IL-17 suppresses immune effector functions in human papillomavirus-associated epithelial hyperplasia","volume":"193","author":"Gosmann","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"587298","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2020.587298","article-title":"Depiction of Vaginal Microbiota in Women with High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Infection","volume":"8","author":"Wei","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100","DOI":"10.21037\/atm.2019.12.115","article-title":"Research of the potential biomarkers in vaginal microbiome for persistent high-risk human papillomavirus infection","volume":"8","author":"Chao","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ann. Transl. Med."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Usyk, M., Zolnik, C.P., Castle, P.E., Porras, C., Herrero, R., Gradissimo, A., Gonzalez, P., Safaeian, M., Schiffman, M., and Burk, R.D. (2020). Costa Rica HPV Vaccine Trial (CVT) Group. Cervicovaginal microbiome and natural history of HPV in a longitudinal study. PLoS Pathog., 16.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.ppat.1008376"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"674.e1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cmi.2015.02.026","article-title":"The association of uterine cervical microbiota with an increased risk for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in Korea","volume":"21","author":"Oh","year":"2015","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1723","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiu330","article-title":"Interplay between the temporal dynamics of the vaginal microbiota and human papillomavirus detection","volume":"210","author":"Brotman","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"236","DOI":"10.1007\/s12602-017-9339-x","article-title":"Inhibitory Effect of Vaginal Lactobacillus Supernatants on Cervical Cancer Cells","volume":"10","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Probiot. Antimicrob. Proteins"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cha, M.K., Lee, D.K., An, H.M., Lee, S.W., Shin, S.H., Kwon, J.H., Kim, K.J., and Ha, N.J. (2012). Antiviral activity of Bifidobacterium adolescentis SPM1005-A on human papillomavirus type 16. BMC Med., 10.","DOI":"10.1186\/1741-7015-10-72"}],"container-title":["Viruses"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1999-4915\/14\/10\/2130\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T00:40:41Z","timestamp":1760143241000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1999-4915\/14\/10\/2130"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]]},"references-count":39,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,10]]}},"alternative-id":["v14102130"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/v14102130","relation":{},"ISSN":["1999-4915"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1999-4915","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]]}}}