Comparative analysis of vaginal microbiota sampling using menstrual cups and high vaginal swabs in pregnant women living with HIV-1 infection

Objective: To compare the efficacy of menstrual cups and high vaginal swabs (HVS) in collecting bacterial biomass for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Samples: Cervicovaginal fluid samples from 16 HIV-1 infected pregnant women. Method for endpoints: Samples were taken with both HVS and menstrual cups, followed by DNA extraction, bacterial 16S RNA amplicon sequencing, and data analysis using MOTHUR, MicrobiomeAnalyst, SPSS, and R. The total DNA, bacterial load, amplicon read counts, diversity matrices, and bacterial taxa were compared. Main Result: Both menstrual cups and HVS are suitable for assessing vaginal microbiota composition and diversity in HIV-1 pregnant individuals, with menstrual cups offering some advantages like higher total sample volume.

研究目标：比较月经杯（menstrual cups）与高阴道拭子（high vaginal swabs, HVS）在收集用于16S rRNA基因扩增子测序（16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing）的细菌生物量方面的效能。
样本：来自16名HIV-1感染孕妇的宫颈阴道液样本。
实验方法：同时采用高阴道拭子与月经杯采集样本，随后依次进行DNA提取、细菌16S rRNA扩增子测序，并使用MOTHUR、MicrobiomeAnalyst、SPSS及R语言开展数据分析，同时对总DNA含量、细菌载量、扩增子读段计数、多样性矩阵及细菌类群进行比较。
主要结果：针对HIV-1感染孕妇群体，月经杯与高阴道拭子均适用于评估阴道微生物群的组成与多样性，其中月经杯具备总样本体积更高等优势。