characterization of cervico-vaginal microbiota associated with HPV infection

Persistent high risk (HR)-HPV infection is a necessary condition for cervical cancer development. Lactobacillus depletion and increased bacterial diversity in vaginal microbiota facilitate HPV infection and persistence.Cervico-vaginal samples were obtained from samples collected within HPV screening programs for cervical cancer. One-year follow-up data were used to differentiate samples from patients developing persistent infection. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA was used to characterize the vaginal microbiota and to define community state type (CST) in each sample. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) was used to identify enriched taxa during HPV infection and persistence.