Uterine pathology and the microbiome: Next-generation sequencing of the 16S ribosomal subunit among patients with endometrial polyps and fibroids

Dysbiosis of the female reproductive tract is closely associated with gynecologic diseases. Here, we aim to evaluate the uterine microbiome among women with endometrial polyps and submucosal fibroids and to compare results between endometrial sampling techniques. Patients with polyps or fibroids were prospectively recruited prior to hysteroscopy, while patients undergoing retrieval for planned oocyte cryopreservation were recruited prospectively as controls. Three specimen types obtained for each patient were the distal 5 mm of an embryo catheter passed to the uterine fundus (C), endometrial tissue from an endometrial biopsy (T), and formalin fixed paraffin embedded endometrial tissue from the same endometrial biopsy (FFPE). 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was performed to analyze the structure of the endometrial microbiome.