Glycogen Levels in Undiluted Genital Fluid and Their Relationship to Vaginal pH, Estrogen, and Progesterone.
BACKGROUND:Colonization of the female lower genital tract with Lactobacillus provides protection against STIs and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Growth of genital Lactobacillus is postulated to depend on epithelial cell-produced glycogen. However, the amount of cell-free glycogen in genital fluid avail...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2016-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4836725?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1819232079782608896 |
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| author | Paria Mirmonsef Anna L Hotton Douglas Gilbert Casey J Gioia Danijela Maric Thomas J Hope Alan L Landay Gregory T Spear |
| author_facet | Paria Mirmonsef Anna L Hotton Douglas Gilbert Casey J Gioia Danijela Maric Thomas J Hope Alan L Landay Gregory T Spear |
| author_sort | Paria Mirmonsef |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BACKGROUND:Colonization of the female lower genital tract with Lactobacillus provides protection against STIs and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Growth of genital Lactobacillus is postulated to depend on epithelial cell-produced glycogen. However, the amount of cell-free glycogen in genital fluid available for utilization by Lactobacillus is not known. METHODS:Eighty-five genital fluid samples from 7 pre-menopausal women taken over 4-6 weeks were obtained using the Instead SoftCup® (EvoFem, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) by consented donors. Cell-free glycogen and glucose in genital fluids and estrogen and progesterone in blood were quantified. FINDINGS:Glycogen ranged from 0.1-32 μg/μl. There were significant differences between women in glycogen over the observation period. There was a strong negative correlation between glycogen and vaginal pH (r = -0.542, p<0.0001). In multivariable analysis, free glycogen levels were significantly negatively associated with both vaginal pH and progesterone (p < 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). Estrogen, glucose, age, sexual intercourse 24 hours prior to visit, and days after the initial visit were not significantly associated with free glycogen levels. CONCLUSION:Cell-free glycogen concentrations can be very high, up to 3% of genital fluid, and are strongly associated with acidic vaginal pH. However, the fluctuations in glycogen levels in individuals and differences between individuals do not appear to be associated with estrogen. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T11:55:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c82e74fd557845259d54b652ad341767 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T11:55:10Z |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-c82e74fd557845259d54b652ad3417672022-12-21T17:48:07ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01114e015355310.1371/journal.pone.0153553Glycogen Levels in Undiluted Genital Fluid and Their Relationship to Vaginal pH, Estrogen, and Progesterone.Paria MirmonsefAnna L HottonDouglas GilbertCasey J GioiaDanijela MaricThomas J HopeAlan L LandayGregory T SpearBACKGROUND:Colonization of the female lower genital tract with Lactobacillus provides protection against STIs and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Growth of genital Lactobacillus is postulated to depend on epithelial cell-produced glycogen. However, the amount of cell-free glycogen in genital fluid available for utilization by Lactobacillus is not known. METHODS:Eighty-five genital fluid samples from 7 pre-menopausal women taken over 4-6 weeks were obtained using the Instead SoftCup® (EvoFem, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) by consented donors. Cell-free glycogen and glucose in genital fluids and estrogen and progesterone in blood were quantified. FINDINGS:Glycogen ranged from 0.1-32 μg/μl. There were significant differences between women in glycogen over the observation period. There was a strong negative correlation between glycogen and vaginal pH (r = -0.542, p<0.0001). In multivariable analysis, free glycogen levels were significantly negatively associated with both vaginal pH and progesterone (p < 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). Estrogen, glucose, age, sexual intercourse 24 hours prior to visit, and days after the initial visit were not significantly associated with free glycogen levels. CONCLUSION:Cell-free glycogen concentrations can be very high, up to 3% of genital fluid, and are strongly associated with acidic vaginal pH. However, the fluctuations in glycogen levels in individuals and differences between individuals do not appear to be associated with estrogen.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4836725?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Paria Mirmonsef Anna L Hotton Douglas Gilbert Casey J Gioia Danijela Maric Thomas J Hope Alan L Landay Gregory T Spear Glycogen Levels in Undiluted Genital Fluid and Their Relationship to Vaginal pH, Estrogen, and Progesterone. PLoS ONE |
| title | Glycogen Levels in Undiluted Genital Fluid and Their Relationship to Vaginal pH, Estrogen, and Progesterone. |
| title_full | Glycogen Levels in Undiluted Genital Fluid and Their Relationship to Vaginal pH, Estrogen, and Progesterone. |
| title_fullStr | Glycogen Levels in Undiluted Genital Fluid and Their Relationship to Vaginal pH, Estrogen, and Progesterone. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Glycogen Levels in Undiluted Genital Fluid and Their Relationship to Vaginal pH, Estrogen, and Progesterone. |
| title_short | Glycogen Levels in Undiluted Genital Fluid and Their Relationship to Vaginal pH, Estrogen, and Progesterone. |
| title_sort | glycogen levels in undiluted genital fluid and their relationship to vaginal ph estrogen and progesterone |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4836725?pdf=render |
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