Microbial Dysregulation in Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection: Gut and Vaginal Microbiome Profiling

The 50% of women will experience at least one Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) in their lifetime, which 10-20% of them will develop recurrences (rUTIs). While factors like sexual intercourse and pelvic floor health have been identified as risk to develop rUTIs, recent studies highlight a dysbiosis in the gut and vaginal microbiome as additional contributors. Using a metagenomic approach with shotgun genomics, we investigated the impact of rUTIs, sexual activity and pelvic floor health on gut and vaginal microbiomes of women experiencing rUTIs. Our findings reveal a distinct dysbiosis, characterized by reduced microbiome gut and increased vaginal microbiome diversities. Increased evenness between gut and vaginal microbiomes in wrUTIs compared to controls, suggesting that a higher interplay between these microbiomes as a risk factor for rUTIs. Notably, we detected higher levels of gut bacteria in vaginal microbiomes and vice versa, emphasizing a possible association between the two microbiomes.