Rapid Characterization of the Vaginal Microbiome/Virome in Pregnant Women

摘要 早产(PTB)发生在怀孕37周之前，在美国约有10%的新生儿受到影响。 在美国每年都有新生婴儿死亡，是新生儿发病率和死亡率的主要原因。因为我们的 由于对肺结核病因的了解还不完全，我们在预测或预防肺结核方面的能力有限。在我们的 在以前的研究中，我们使用高通量测序来揭示病毒和细菌的特征 阴道中的群落与肺结核有关。这些数据表明，阴道的特征 微生物组可作为肺结核的生物标志物，但还需要更多的研究。同时测序化验 在开始识别与肺结核相关的微生物特征、结合这些特征方面是有用的 大规模后续研究的化验受到几个因素的限制：(I)在许多情况下，测序化验 定性，需要随后的化验来量化微生物，从而消耗样品材料；(Ii) 测序和定量聚合酶链式反应分析非常耗时，需要数周时间才能获得完整的数据集 (3)测序分析相对昂贵，尽管有许多创新降低了成本。 基于我们对与肺结核相关的阴道微生物群落特征的深入了解，我们 目前的目标是开发一种单一的、多路的、靶向的分析方法，使我们能够捕获基本特征 我们在测序分析中发现了这一点，但它将比测序更定量、更快速、更具成本效益。 这项测试的发展将使我们(和其他研究人类女性微生物组的人)能够 生殖道)在未来的研究中通过取代多重测序和PCR来最大限度地利用资源 检测具有单一、定量、快速、使用方便、成本较低的特点。此外，这项检测还可以作为 为未来的临床研究奠定基础，旨在确定孕妇患肺结核的风险

ABSTRACT Preterm birth (PTB), delivery occurring before 37 weeks of gestation, affects approximately 10% of births in the United States each year and is the primary cause of neonatal morbidities and mortality. Because our understanding of the causes of PTB is incomplete, we are limited in our ability to predict or prevent PTB. In our previous studies, we used high-throughput sequencing to reveal characteristics of viral and bacterial communities in the vagina are associated with PTB. These data suggest that characteristics of the vaginal microbiome may serve as biomarkers for PTB, although more studies are required. While sequencing assays have been useful in beginning to identify microbial signatures associated with PTB, the incorporation of these assays into large-scale follow up studies is limited by several factors: (i) sequencing assays are in many cases qualitative, requiring subsequent assays to quantitate the microbes, thereby depleting sample material; (ii) sequencing and qPCR assays are time-consuming, requiring weeks to obtain complete data sets from each sample; and (iii) sequencing assays are relatively expensive despite many innovations that have reduced costs. Based on our increased understanding of vaginal microbial community features associated with PTB, we presently aim to develop a single, multiplexed, targeted assay that will allow us to capture the essential features we find in sequencing assays, but it will do so more quantitatively, rapidly, and cost-effectively than sequencing. The development of this assay will allow us (and others who study the microbiome of the human female reproductive tract) to maximize resource utilization in future studies by replacing multiple sequencing and PCR tests with a single, quantitative, rapid, easy to use, less expensive assay. Furthermore, this assay may serve as a foundation for future clinical studies aimed at defining risk for PTB in pregnant women