Correlation between hormone levels and count of microorganisms in the vagina of women participated in a 5-day dry immersion experiment

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Abstract

The aim of this article is to study the relationship between hormone levels and the number of vaginal microorganisms of female volunteers participated in a 5-day dry immersion (DI) experiment. The study involved 6 volunteers aged 25 to 40 years. The duration of the DI was 5 days. Throughout the experiment, the volunteers used 1 vaginal capsule containing autologous Lactobacillus spp in a titer of 107 CFU/ml (excipients — magnesium stearate — 3 mg, lactose monohydrate — sufficient to obtain a capsule content weight of 400 mg) every night for 5 days. The volunteers also orally took a lactoferrin-based preparation in the amount of 400 mg once a day in the morning, starting from the 1st day of DI for 30 long. To study the state of the vaginal and cervical canal microflora, samples were taken before the experiment, 5—7 days and 34—36 days after the end of immersion. Blood was taken to measure the amount of estradiol and prolactin at the same points as the vaginal biomaterial. All three points fell on days 19—22 of the menstrual cycle. Vaginal contents and cervical canal discharge were cultivated on selective and non-selective agar. Species identification of microorganisms was performed by MALDI-TOF-MS analysis using a Microflex LT time-of-flight mass spectrometer with Maldi BioTyper software (Bruker Daltoniks, Germany) version 4.0. Concentrations of estradiol and prolactin were measured by the enzyme immunoassay method using commercial kits (DBC, Canada) on a Stat Fax 2100 plate immunoassay analyzer (Awareness Technology, USA). As a result, correlation was found between the levels of prolactin and estradiol and some microorganisms of the vaginal and cervical canal microbiota. Lactobacillus spp found to be the most sensitive to the levels of estradiol and prolactin. In addition to Lactobacillus spp, the amount of estradiol and prolactin is also affected by Staphylococcus spp, Corymebacterium spp, B. bifidum and C. acnes. Thus, under conditions simulating individual factors of space flight, it is necessary to pay close attention to monitoring the hormonal status of female volunteers, as well as maintaining the amount of Lactobacillus spp within the normal range to prevent the development of dysbiotic conditions of the vagina and cervical canal.

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About the authors

D. V. Komissarova

Institute of Biomedical Problems, RAS

Author for correspondence.
Email: d.komisarova@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

V. K. Ilyin

Institute of Biomedical Problems, RAS

Email: d.komisarova@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

A. A. Markin

Institute of Biomedical Problems, RAS

Email: d.komisarova@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

O. A. Zhuravleva

Institute of Biomedical Problems, RAS

Email: d.komisarova@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

A. L. Vorontsov

Institute of Biomedical Problems, RAS

Email: d.komisarova@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

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Supplementary files

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2. Fig. 1. Contribution of the number of different microorganisms in the vaginal biotope to the amount of estradiol.

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3. Fig. 2. Contribution of the number of different types of cervical canal microorganisms to the amount of prolactin.

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4. Fig. 3. Contribution of different vaginal biotope bacteria to the amount of estradiol at the sampling point “After” according to regression analysis data.

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5. Fig. 4. Contribution of different bacteria of the vaginal biotope to the amount of estradiol at the sampling point “After+34” according to regression analysis data.

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6. Fig. 5. Contribution of different bacteria of the vaginal biotope to the amount of prolactin at the sampling point “After+34” according to regression analysis data.

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