{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "6a3856a3e76a4b55992d153f2932da74", "timestamp": "2026-09-30T13:19:17.714Z", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/6a3856a3e76a4b55992d153f2932da74.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/6a3856a3e76a4b55992d153f2932da74"}}, "title": "Distinct cervical tissue-adherent and luminal microbiome communities correlate with mucosal host gene expression and protein levels in Kenyan sex workers.", "authors": [{"family": "Edfeldt", "given": "Gabriella", "initials": "G"}, {"family": "Kaldhusdal", "given": "Vilde", "initials": "V"}, {"family": "Czarnewski", "given": "Paulo", "initials": "P"}, {"family": "Bradley", "given": "Frideborg", "initials": "F"}, {"family": "Bergstr\u00f6m", "given": "Sofia", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "Lajoie", "given": "Julie", "initials": "J"}, {"family": "Xu", "given": "Jiawu", "initials": "J"}, {"family": "M\u00e5nberg", "given": "Anna", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Kimani", "given": "Joshua", "initials": "J"}, {"family": "Oyugi", "given": "Julius", "initials": "J"}, {"family": "Nilsson", "given": "Peter", "initials": "P"}, {"family": "Tjernlund", "given": "Annelie", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Fowke", "given": "Keith R", "initials": "KR"}, {"family": "Kwon", "given": "Douglas S", "initials": "DS"}, {"family": "Broliden", "given": "Kristina", "initials": "K"}], "type": "video-audio media", "published": "2023-03-31", "journal": {"title": "Microbiome", "issn": "2049-2618", "volume": "11", "issue": "1", "pages": "67", "issn-l": "2049-2618"}, "abstract": "The majority of studies characterizing female genital tract microbiota have focused on luminal organisms, while the presence and impact of tissue-adherent ectocervical microbiota remain incompletely understood. Studies of luminal and tissue-associated bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract suggest that these communities may have distinct roles in health and disease. Here, we performed a multi-omics characterization of paired luminal and tissue samples collected from a cohort of Kenyan female sex workers.\n\nWe identified a tissue-adherent bacterial microbiome, with a higher alpha diversity than the luminal microbiome, in which dominant genera overall included Gardnerella and Lactobacillus, followed by Prevotella, Atopobium, and Sneathia. About half of the L. iners-dominated luminal samples had a corresponding Gardnerella-dominated tissue microbiome. Broadly, the tissue-adherent microbiome was associated with fewer differentially expressed host genes than the luminal microbiome. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that L. crispatus-dominated tissue-adherent communities were associated with protein translation and antimicrobial activity, whereas a highly diverse microbial community was associated with epithelial remodeling and pro-inflammatory pathways. Tissue-adherent communities dominated by L. iners and Gardnerella were associated with lower host transcriptional activity. Tissue-adherent microbiomes dominated by Lactobacillus and Gardnerella correlated with host protein profiles associated with epithelial barrier stability, although with a more pro-inflammatory profile for the Gardnerella-dominated microbiome group. Tissue samples with a highly diverse composition had a protein profile representing cell proliferation and pro-inflammatory activity.\n\nWe identified ectocervical tissue-adherent bacterial communities in all study participants of a female sex worker cohort. These communities were distinct from cervicovaginal luminal microbiota in a significant proportion of individuals. We further revealed that bacterial communities at both sites correlated with distinct host gene expression and protein levels. The tissue-adherent bacterial community could possibly act as a reservoir that seed the lumen with less optimal, non-Lactobacillus, bacteria. Video Abstract.", "doi": "10.1186/s40168-023-01502-4", "pmid": "37004130", "labels": [], "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC10064689"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "10.1186/s40168-023-01502-4"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-09-23T12:10:04.573Z", "modified": "2026-09-23T12:10:04.595Z"}