{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,28]],"date-time":"2026-02-28T09:17:51Z","timestamp":1772270271594,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"PeerJ","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,29]],"date-time":"2019-11-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1574985600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["81872634"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["81872634"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012226","name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["2242016K40025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2242016K40025"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012226","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Postgraduate Research and Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province","award":["KYCX17_0184"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KYCX17_0184"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n Female sex workers (FSWs) are key groups in the transmission of sexual transmitted infections (STI), and vaginal microbiome variations play an important role in transmission. We aimed to explore the characteristics of vaginal microbiome among FSWs.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Materials and Methods<\/jats:title>\n A total of 24 cross-border FSWs were randomly selected from a cross-sectional survey for female sex workers in southwest China. Thirty-seven female non-sex workers (FNSWs) were randomly selected from the gynecology clinic and health examination center. Vaginal swabs were collected, bacterial DNA extracted and 16S rRNA genes were sequenced. Differences in the vaginal microbiome between both groups were compared using bioinformatics analysis.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n One DNA sample was excluded due to unqualified concentration, therefore 60 samples were sequenced. FSWs had significantly different vaginal microbiota \u03b2 diversity, but undifferentiated \u03b1 diversity when compared with non-sex workers. The average relative abundance of\n Sneathia<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n Shigella<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n Neisseria<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n Chlamydia<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n Prevotella<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n Enterococcus<\/jats:italic>\n and\n Ureaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n among FSWs was higher than FNSWs, and relative abundance of\n Atopobium<\/jats:italic>\n in FSWs was lower than FNSWs. The\n Lactobacillus<\/jats:italic>\n genus was the major genus in both groups. At the species level,\n Lactobacllus crispatus<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n Lactobacllus gasseri<\/jats:italic>\n and\n Lactobacllus jensenii<\/jats:italic>\n , in female sex workers, were lower when compared to FNSWs.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n There were distinct differences in vaginal bacteria variety between FSWs and FNSWs. Some disease-related genus were also more abundant in FSWs. Based on these observations, further research is required to identify microbiome communities related to high STI risks and other diseases in these cohorts.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.8131","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,29]],"date-time":"2019-11-29T04:20:52Z","timestamp":1575001252000},"page":"e8131","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Characteristics of the vaginal microbiome in cross-border female sex workers in China: a case-control study"],"prefix":"10.7717","volume":"7","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3407-0026","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Xiang","family":"Hong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8988-090X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Shenghao","family":"Fang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mount Sinai Health System, New York, NY, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kaiping","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jiechen","family":"Yin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jianshuang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Xuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pengfei","family":"Qin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zhong Da Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Danhong","family":"Peng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zhong Da Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ning","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Center for AIDS\/STD Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bei","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"4443","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,29]]},"reference":[{"issue":"8","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"572","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2016-052994","article-title":"Finding sexual partners online: prevalence and associations with sexual behaviour, STI diagnoses and other sexual health outcomes in the British population","volume":"93","author":"Cabecinha","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sexually Transmitted Infections"},{"issue":"7","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1681","DOI":"10.1002\/jcp.25806","article-title":"Subclinical alteration of the cervical-vaginal microbiome in women with idiopathic infertility","volume":"232","author":"Campisciano","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Cellular Physiology"},{"issue":"3","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"549","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fertnstert.2017.11.009","article-title":"Mycoplasma genitalium can modulate the local immune response in patients with endometriosis","volume":"109","author":"Campos","year":"2018","journal-title":"Fertility and Sterility"},{"key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"875","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-017-00901-0","article-title":"The microbiota continuum along the female reproductive tract and its relation to uterine-related diseases","volume":"8","author":"Chen","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nature Communications"},{"key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2180-7-115","article-title":"Quantitative determination by real-time PCR of four vaginal Lactobacillus species, Gardnerella vaginalis and Atopobium vaginae indicates an inverse relationship between L. gasseri and L. iners","volume":"7","author":"De Backer","year":"2007","journal-title":"BMC Microbiology"},{"issue":"6","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.1097\/ANC.0000000000000218","article-title":"Maternal microbiome and pregnancy outcomes that impact infant health: a review","volume":"15","author":"Dunlop","year":"2015","journal-title":"Advances in Neonatal Care"},{"key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S3","DOI":"10.1097\/MD.0000000000009218","article-title":"Prevalence estimates of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C among female sex workers (FSW) in Brazil, 2016","volume":"97","author":"Ferreira-Junior","year":"2018","journal-title":"Medicine"},{"issue":"132","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"132ra152","DOI":"10.1126\/scitranslmed.3003605","article-title":"Temporal dynamics of the human vaginal microbiota","volume":"4","author":"Gajer","year":"2012","journal-title":"Science Translational Medicine"},{"issue":"14","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1527","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vaccine.2013.07.087","article-title":"Toward global prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs): the need for STI vaccines","volume":"32","author":"Gottlieb","year":"2014","journal-title":"Vaccine"},{"issue":"4","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"324","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajog.2018.11.1089","article-title":"Ecological dynamics of the vaginal microbiome in relation to health and disease","volume":"220","author":"Greenbaum","year":"2018","journal-title":"American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology"},{"issue":"Suppl 8","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S4","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2164-13-S8-S4","article-title":"Genomic sequence analysis and characterization of Sneathia amnii sp. nov","volume":"13","author":"Harwich","year":"2012","journal-title":"BMC Genomics"},{"issue":"15","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2461","DOI":"10.1093\/bioinformatics\/btv183","article-title":"Power and sample-size estimation for microbiome studies using pairwise distances and PERMANOVA","volume":"31","author":"Kelly","year":"2015","journal-title":"Bioinformatics"},{"issue":"3","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"573","DOI":"10.1007\/s10461-013-0624-8","article-title":"Anal sex, vaginal sex and HIV risk among female sex workers in Papua New Guinea","volume":"18","author":"Kelly-Hanku","year":"2014","journal-title":"AIDS and Behavior"},{"issue":"4","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"643","DOI":"10.1097\/AOG.0000000000001932","article-title":"Vaginal microbiome and its relationship to behavior, sexual health, and sexually transmitted diseases","volume":"129","author":"Lewis","year":"2017","journal-title":"Obstetrics and Gynecology"},{"issue":"4","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3922","DOI":"10.1093\/femspd\/ftv020","article-title":"Fine-scale analysis of 16S rRNA sequences reveals a high level of taxonomic diversity among vaginal Atopobium spp","volume":"73","author":"Mendes-Soares","year":"2015","journal-title":"Pathogens and Disease"},{"key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"511","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.63.4.511","article-title":"Shigella vaginitis: report of 38 patients and review of the literature","volume":"63","author":"Murphy","year":"1979","journal-title":"Pediatrics"},{"issue":"4","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"615","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ogc.2014.08.010","article-title":"The role of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma in adverse pregnancy outcomes","volume":"41","author":"Murtha","year":"2014","journal-title":"Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America"},{"issue":"2","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.00075-15","article-title":"The human microbiome during bacterial vaginosis","volume":"29","author":"Onderdonk","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clinical Microbiology Reviews"},{"issue":"3","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","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 in Microbiology"},{"issue":"Suppl1","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4680","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1002611107","article-title":"Vaginal microbiome of reproductive-age women","volume":"108","author":"Ravel","year":"2011","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America"},{"issue":"10","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"750","DOI":"10.1097\/OLQ.0b013e31825f7af7","article-title":"HIV and associated risk factors among male clients of female sex workers in a Chinese border region","volume":"39","author":"Reilly","year":"2012","journal-title":"Sexually Transmitted Diseases"},{"issue":"8","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"815","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijmm.2015.07.005","article-title":"Lactobacillus crispatus mediates anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 induction in response to Chlamydia trachomatis infection in vitro","volume":"305","author":"Rizzo","year":"2015","journal-title":"International Journal of Medical Microbiology"},{"issue":"6","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"744","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jix395","article-title":"Group B Streptococcus and the vaginal microbiota","volume":"216","author":"Rosen","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Infectious Diseases"},{"issue":"23","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7537","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.01541-09","article-title":"Introducing mothur: open-source, platform-independent, community-supported software for describing and comparing microbial communities","volume":"75","author":"Schloss","year":"2009","journal-title":"Applied and Environmental Microbiology"},{"issue":"1","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"79","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/ciw663","article-title":"Cervicovaginal inflammation facilitates acquisition of less infectious HIV variants","volume":"64","author":"Selhorst","year":"2017","journal-title":"Clinical Infectious Diseases"},{"issue":"3","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"356.e351","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajog.2017.05.030","article-title":"Early pregnancy vaginal microbiome trends and preterm birth","volume":"217","author":"Stout","year":"2017","journal-title":"American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology"},{"issue":"1","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-015-1322-0","article-title":"Sustained high prevalence of viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections among female sex workers in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"16","author":"Su","year":"2016","journal-title":"BMC Infectious Diseases"},{"issue":"1","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajog.2016.08.008","article-title":"Sexually transmitted diseases and infertility","volume":"216","author":"Tsevat","year":"2017","journal-title":"American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology"},{"issue":"5","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"563","DOI":"10.1002\/ajp.22378","article-title":"Influence of age, reproductive cycling status, and menstruation on the vaginal microbiome in baboons (Papio anubis)","volume":"77","author":"Uchihashi","year":"2015","journal-title":"American Journal of Primatology"},{"issue":"12","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1002478","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.1002478","article-title":"The vaginal microbiome and sexually transmitted infections are interlinked: consequences for treatment and prevention","volume":"14","author":"Van de Wijgert","year":"2017","journal-title":"PLOS Medicine"},{"issue":"1","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"116","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2180-9-116","article-title":"Longitudinal analysis of the vaginal microflora in pregnancy suggests that L. crispatus promotes the stability of the normal vaginal microflora and that L. gasseri and\/or L. iners are more conducive to the occurrence of abnormal vaginal microflora","volume":"9","author":"Verstraelen","year":"2009","journal-title":"BMC Microbiology"},{"issue":"6","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0129430","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0129430","article-title":"Analysis of HIV correlated factors in Chinese and Vietnamese female sex workers in Hekou, Yunnan Province, a Chinese Border Region","volume":"10","author":"Wang","year":"2015","journal-title":"PLOS ONE"},{"key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"706","DOI":"10.3967\/0895-3988.2012.06.013","article-title":"Herpes simplex virus type 2 risks in female sex workers in the China-Vietnam border county of Hekou","volume":"25","author":"Wang","year":"2012","journal-title":"Biomedical and Environmental Sciences"},{"issue":"11","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0187612","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0187612","article-title":"Association of high-risk sexual behaviour with diversity of the vaginal microbiota and abundance of Lactobacillus","volume":"12","author":"Wessels","year":"2017","journal-title":"PLOS ONE"},{"issue":"5","key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"424","DOI":"10.1177\/0956462417730258","article-title":"HIV prevalence and correlated factors of female sex workers and male clients in a border region of Yunnan Province","volume":"29","author":"Zhu","year":"2018","journal-title":"International Journal of STD & AIDS"},{"key":"10.7717\/peerj.8131\/ref-36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2018.00001","article-title":"Dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiota and higher vaginal kynurenine\/tryptophan ratio reveals an association with Chlamydia trachomatis genital infections","volume":"8","author":"Ziklo","year":"2018","journal-title":"Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology"}],"container-title":["PeerJ"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/peerj.com\/articles\/8131.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/peerj.com\/articles\/8131.xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/peerj.com\/articles\/8131.html","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/peerj.com\/articles\/8131.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,7]],"date-time":"2022-10-07T01:47:10Z","timestamp":1665107230000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/peerj.com\/articles\/8131"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,29]]},"references-count":36,"alternative-id":["10.7717\/peerj.8131"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7717\/peerj.8131","archive":["CLOCKSS","LOCKSS","Portico"],"relation":{"has-review":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.7287\/peerj.8131v0.1\/reviews\/2","asserted-by":"object"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.7287\/peerj.8131v0.1\/reviews\/1","asserted-by":"object"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.7287\/peerj.8131v0.2\/reviews\/2","asserted-by":"object"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.7287\/peerj.8131v0.2\/reviews\/1","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["2167-8359"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2167-8359","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,29]]},"article-number":"e8131"}}