Bacterial profiles of the human placenta based on gestational age at delivery, mode of delivery, and the placental level under investigation

The objective of this study was to 1) use 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bacterial culture techniques to characterize the bacterial profiles of term and preterm, cesarean and vaginally-delivered (with and without labor), placentas, 2) analyze the bacterial profiles of the amnion, amnion-chorion interface, subchorion, villous tree, and basal plate, 3) compare these profiles to those of technical controls for background DNA contamination, and 4) assess the influence of a potential placental microbiota on pregnancy outcome.

本研究的目的为：1）采用16S rRNA基因测序（16S rRNA gene sequencing）与细菌培养技术，解析足月妊娠、早产妊娠、剖宫产分娩及阴道分娩（伴或不伴产程发动）的胎盘的细菌群落特征；2）分析羊膜（amnion）、羊膜-绒毛膜界面（amnion-chorion interface）、绒毛膜下层（subchorion）、绒毛树（villous tree）及胎盘基底板（basal plate）的细菌群落特征；3）将上述群落特征与用于背景DNA污染检测的技术对照样本的特征进行比对；4）评估潜在胎盘微生物群（placental microbiota）对妊娠结局的影响。