Cited by 44Reproductive tract infections researchGut microbiota and healthAntifungal resistance and susceptibility

The Role of Fatty Acid Metabolites in Vaginal Health and Disease: Application to Candidiasis

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Baldewijns, Silke, Sillen, Mart, Palmans, Ilse, Vandecruys, Paul, Van Dijck, Patrick, Demuyser, Liesbeth·2021·Frontiers in Microbiology

Abstract

Although the vast majority of women encounters at least one vaginal infection during their life, the amount of microbiome-related research performed in this area lags behind compared to alternative niches such as the intestinal tract. As a result, effective means of diagnosis and treatment, especially of recurrent infections, are limited. The role of the metabolome in vaginal health is largely elusive. It has been shown that lactate produced by the numerous lactobacilli present promotes health by limiting the chance of infection. Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) have been mainly linked to dysbiosis, although the causality of this relationship is still under debate. In this review, we aim to bring together information on the role of the vaginal metabolome and microbiome in infections caused by Candida. Vulvovaginal candidiasis affects near to 70% of all women at least once in their life with a significant proportion of women suffering from the recurrent variant. We assess the role of fatty acid metabolites, mainly SCFA and lactate, in onset of infection and virulence of the fungal pathogen. In addition, we pinpoint where lack of research limits our understanding of the molecular processes involved and restricts the possibility of developing novel treatment strategies.

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Crossref · 10.3389/fmicb.2021.705779

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  • In the core of L. paragasseri strains, biosynthesis of fatty acids was found, associated with integrity of vaginal cell membranes.

    “In the core of L. paragasseri strains, we found the biosynthesis of fatty acids, associated with the integrity of the vaginal cell membranes [40].”

    From Women's health is a team effort: probiogenomics supports the development of a multi-species vaginal probiotic (2026) · cites this paper as [40]

    The section on epithelial barrier function reports that short-chain fatty acids can strengthen the gut epithelial barrier, but says little is known about their effects on the vaginal epithelial barrier. It does not link fatty-acid biosynthesis to vaginal cell-membrane integrity. The finding in L. paragasseri strains is presented as the citing authors’ own result, not as a finding of this review. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Ehrlich S. D. Consortium M. (2011). MetaHIT: The European Union Project on metagenomics of the human intestinal tract, in Metagenomics of the human body. New York, NY: Springer, 307– 316.
  2. Yassin A. F. Schaal K. P. (2015). “ Arcanobacterium,” in Bergey’s Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria, eds William P Wjitman B (London: Wiley), 1– 24.

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Authors
Baldewijns, S., Sillen, M., Palmans, I., Vandecruys, P., Van Dijck, P., & Demuyser, L.
Affiliations
VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology (BE)
Corresponding author
Demuyser, Liesbeth
Venue
Frontiers in Microbiology
Published
2021-07-02
Volume
12
Pages
705779-705779
ISSN
1664-302X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3178246230
Cited by
44
References
474
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 1
FWCI
0.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Frontiers in Microbiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Reproductive tract infections research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
Keywords
vaginal microbiota, fatty acid metabolites, short-chain fatty acids, lactate, lactobacilli, vaginal candidiasis, recurrent candidiasis, dysbiosis, vaginal infection

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