OA10.01
Background: Mucins are glycoproteins that protect and lubricate epithelial surfaces. In humans, they can be secreted (MUC5AC, MUC7) or membrane bound (MUC1, MUC4, MUC16). Mucins can trap HIV but little is known about the impact of the vaginal microbiota and hormonal status on the mucin content in vaginal and cervical fluid. The objective of this study was to measure the quantity of 5 MUCs in the CVF of women under different hormonal conditions, stratifying for vaginal microflora.
Methods: CVF was collected via catamenial cup from 165 healthy asymptomatic reproductive aged women in the follicular (n=27) or proliferative (n=26) phase, women using levonogestrol (LNG) IUDs (n=28), DMPA (n=29) or combined oral contraceptives (n=27) and 29 post-menopausal women. Vaginal smears were evaluated using the Nugent criteria for bacterial vaginosis (BV) among reproductive age women. The MUC content of the samples was evaluated using ELISA. Student's t-test and one-way analysis of variance with post-hoc comparisons made using Bonferroni's multiple comparisons procedure were used to assess statistical significance.
Results: MUCs 1, 4, 5AC and 7 were detected at significantly higher concentrations in CVF with increasing Nugent score (P<0.05), while MUC16 was not linked to BV status. By contrast, MUC content was minimally impacted by hormonal status. There was no statistically significant difference in MUC1 and MUC5AC among women in the different hormonal groups. MUC4 was significantly increased among post-menopausal women (P=0.005, comparing post-menopausal women to all others), and women using a LNG IUD had lower levels of MUC7 in the CVFs compared to other reproductive age women (P=0.006).
Conclusions: In this study, vaginal microflora had a greater impact on MUC content of CVF than hormonal status. Women with BV have increased levels of secreted and membrane bound mucins, indicating that microbiota induce changes in the expression of cervical mucins which could contribute to an increased risk of HIV.
