Atopobium vaginae And Porphyromonas somerae Induce Proinflammatory Cytokines Expression In Endometrial Cells: A Possible Implication For Endometrial Cancer?

Elisabetta Caselli,¹ Irene Soffritti,¹ Maria D’Accolti,¹ Isabella Piva,² Pantaleo Greco,² Gloria Bonaccorsi<sup>2

1</sup>Section of Microbiology and Medical Genetics, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; ²Section of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

Correspondence: Elisabetta Caselli
Section of Microbiology and Medical Genetics, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari 46, Ferrara 44121, Italy
Tel +39 0532 455387
Fax +39 0532 974470
Email csb@unife.it

The female lower vaginal tract has long been known to have an active microbiota, with Lactobacilli genus representing the prevalent species, and alterations in the vaginal microbiota are known to play a role in different pathological conditions, including bacterial vaginosis, sexually transmitted diseases, HPV persistence, and cervical cancer.
By contrast, the uterus was considered sterile until recently, when the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies identified a unique uterine microbiota differing from that of the vagina.¹
The uterine bacterial load is estimated to be 100–10,000-times lower than that of the vaginal microbiome, and, contrary to the vaginal and cervix microbiota, uterine bacteria grow in mildly alkaline conditions, contrasting to the Lactobacillus-dominated low pH environment of the vagina.²