The implausible "in vivo" role of hydrogen peroxide as an antimicrobial factor produced by vaginal microbiota
Date
2018Journal
MicrobiomePublisher
BioMed Central Ltd.Type
Article
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In the cervicovaginal environment, the production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by vaginal Lactobacillus spp. is often mentioned as a critical factor to the in vivo vaginal microbiota antimicrobial properties. We present several lines of evidence that support the implausibility of H2O2 as an "in vivo" contributor to the cervicovaginal milieu antimicrobial properties. An alternative explanation is proposed, supported by previous reports ascribing protective and antimicrobial properties to other factors produced by Lactobacillus spp. capable of generating H2O2. Under this proposal, lactic acid rather than H2O2 plays an important role in the antimicrobial properties of protective vaginal Lactobacillus spp. We hope this commentary will help future research focus on more plausible mechanisms by which vaginal Lactobacillus spp. exert their antimicrobial and beneficial properties, and which have in vivo and translational relevance. Copyright The Author(s). 2018.Sponsors
GT is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Senior Research Fellowship APP1117748 and NHMRC Project Grant APP1088564. GT gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the Victorian Operational Infrastructure Support Program received by the Burnet Institute. JR is supported by National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under award number U19AI084044 and R01NR015495.Keyword
Anti-Infective AgentsCell HypoxiaFemale
Genome, Bacterial
Humans
Hydrogen Peroxide
Lactic Acid
Lactobacillus
Microbiota
Vagina
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https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85042852407&doi=10.1186%2fs40168-018-0418-3&partnerID=40&md5=c3e8b138ffb0c7fe16982e35ef55d3a4; http://hdl.handle.net/10713/8911ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1186/s40168-018-0418-3
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