Cervical mucus in linked human Cervix and Vagina Chips modulates vaginal dysbiosis
Abstract This study explores the protective role of cervicovaginal mucus in maintaining vaginal health, particularly in relation to bacterial vaginosis (BV), using organ chip technology. By integrating human Cervix and Vagina Chips, we demonstrated that cervical mucus significantly reduces inflammat...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | npj Women's Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44294-025-00054-2 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832571146172628992 |
|---|---|
| author | Ola Gutzeit Aakanksha Gulati Zohreh Izadifar Anna Stejskalova Hassan Rhbiny Justin Cotton Bogdan Budnik Sanjid Shahriar Girija Goyal Abidemi Junaid Donald E. Ingber |
| author_facet | Ola Gutzeit Aakanksha Gulati Zohreh Izadifar Anna Stejskalova Hassan Rhbiny Justin Cotton Bogdan Budnik Sanjid Shahriar Girija Goyal Abidemi Junaid Donald E. Ingber |
| author_sort | Ola Gutzeit |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This study explores the protective role of cervicovaginal mucus in maintaining vaginal health, particularly in relation to bacterial vaginosis (BV), using organ chip technology. By integrating human Cervix and Vagina Chips, we demonstrated that cervical mucus significantly reduces inflammation and epithelial damage caused by a dysbiotic microbiome commonly associated with BV. Proteomic analysis of the Vagina Chip, following exposure to mucus from the Cervix Chip, revealed differentially abundant proteins, suggesting potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for BV management. Our findings highlight the essential function of cervical mucus in preserving vaginal health and underscore the value of organ chip models for studying complex interactions within the female reproductive tract. This research provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying vaginal dysbiosis and opens avenues for developing targeted therapies and diagnostic tools to enhance women’s reproductive health. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-183df4adc43243f7968e80db6b5a42d5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2948-1716 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Women's Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-183df4adc43243f7968e80db6b5a42d52025-02-02T12:48:28ZengNature Portfolionpj Women's Health2948-17162025-01-013111110.1038/s44294-025-00054-2Cervical mucus in linked human Cervix and Vagina Chips modulates vaginal dysbiosisOla Gutzeit0Aakanksha Gulati1Zohreh Izadifar2Anna Stejskalova3Hassan Rhbiny4Justin Cotton5Bogdan Budnik6Sanjid Shahriar7Girija Goyal8Abidemi Junaid9Donald E. Ingber10Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard UniversityAbstract This study explores the protective role of cervicovaginal mucus in maintaining vaginal health, particularly in relation to bacterial vaginosis (BV), using organ chip technology. By integrating human Cervix and Vagina Chips, we demonstrated that cervical mucus significantly reduces inflammation and epithelial damage caused by a dysbiotic microbiome commonly associated with BV. Proteomic analysis of the Vagina Chip, following exposure to mucus from the Cervix Chip, revealed differentially abundant proteins, suggesting potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for BV management. Our findings highlight the essential function of cervical mucus in preserving vaginal health and underscore the value of organ chip models for studying complex interactions within the female reproductive tract. This research provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying vaginal dysbiosis and opens avenues for developing targeted therapies and diagnostic tools to enhance women’s reproductive health.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44294-025-00054-2 |
| spellingShingle | Ola Gutzeit Aakanksha Gulati Zohreh Izadifar Anna Stejskalova Hassan Rhbiny Justin Cotton Bogdan Budnik Sanjid Shahriar Girija Goyal Abidemi Junaid Donald E. Ingber Cervical mucus in linked human Cervix and Vagina Chips modulates vaginal dysbiosis npj Women's Health |
| title | Cervical mucus in linked human Cervix and Vagina Chips modulates vaginal dysbiosis |
| title_full | Cervical mucus in linked human Cervix and Vagina Chips modulates vaginal dysbiosis |
| title_fullStr | Cervical mucus in linked human Cervix and Vagina Chips modulates vaginal dysbiosis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cervical mucus in linked human Cervix and Vagina Chips modulates vaginal dysbiosis |
| title_short | Cervical mucus in linked human Cervix and Vagina Chips modulates vaginal dysbiosis |
| title_sort | cervical mucus in linked human cervix and vagina chips modulates vaginal dysbiosis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44294-025-00054-2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT olagutzeit cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis AT aakankshagulati cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis AT zohrehizadifar cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis AT annastejskalova cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis AT hassanrhbiny cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis AT justincotton cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis AT bogdanbudnik cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis AT sanjidshahriar cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis AT girijagoyal cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis AT abidemijunaid cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis AT donaldeingber cervicalmucusinlinkedhumancervixandvaginachipsmodulatesvaginaldysbiosis |