TY - JOUR
KW - bacterial vaginosis
KW - cervical mucus plug
KW - cervix
KW - microbiota
KW - mouse model
KW - mucin
AU - Guillaume Lacroix
AU - Valérie Gouyer
AU - Frédéric Gottrand
AU - Jean-Luc Desseyn
AB - Preterm births are a global health priority that affects 15 million babies every year worldwide. There are no effective prognostic and therapeutic strategies relating to preterm delivery, but uterine infections appear to be a major cause. The vaginal epithelium is covered by the cervicovaginal mucus, which is essential to health because of its direct involvement in reproduction and functions as a selective barrier by sheltering the beneficial lactobacilli while helping to clear pathogens. During pregnancy, the cervical canal is sealed with a cervical mucus plug that prevents the vaginal flora from ascending toward the uterine compartment, which protects the fetus from pathogens. Abnormalities of the cervical mucus plug and bacterial vaginosis are associated with a higher risk of preterm delivery. This review addresses the current understanding of the cervicovaginal mucus and the cervical mucus plug and their interactions with the microbial communities in both the physiological state and bacterial vaginosis, with a focus on gel-forming mucins. We also review the current state of knowledge of gel-forming mucins contained in mouse cervicovaginal mucus and the mouse models used to study bacterial vaginosis.
BT - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DA - 2020/1
DO - 10.3390/ijms21218266
IS - 21
LA - en
N2 - Preterm births are a global health priority that affects 15 million babies every year worldwide. There are no effective prognostic and therapeutic strategies relating to preterm delivery, but uterine infections appear to be a major cause. The vaginal epithelium is covered by the cervicovaginal mucus, which is essential to health because of its direct involvement in reproduction and functions as a selective barrier by sheltering the beneficial lactobacilli while helping to clear pathogens. During pregnancy, the cervical canal is sealed with a cervical mucus plug that prevents the vaginal flora from ascending toward the uterine compartment, which protects the fetus from pathogens. Abnormalities of the cervical mucus plug and bacterial vaginosis are associated with a higher risk of preterm delivery. This review addresses the current understanding of the cervicovaginal mucus and the cervical mucus plug and their interactions with the microbial communities in both the physiological state and bacterial vaginosis, with a focus on gel-forming mucins. We also review the current state of knowledge of gel-forming mucins contained in mouse cervicovaginal mucus and the mouse models used to study bacterial vaginosis.
PY - 2020
EP - 8266
T2 - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
TI - The Cervicovaginal Mucus Barrier
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/21/8266
VL - 21
Y2 - 2026-06-03
SN - 1422-0067
ER -