Exploring the association of vaginal microbiome and preeclampsia using a network-based approach
Creators: name: Sudeepti Kulshrestha
name: Narad, Priyanka
name: R. K. Brojen Singh
name: Abhishek Sengupta
Publisher: name: F1000 Research Limited
Year: 2023

description: The vaginal microbiome refers to the community of microorganisms that colonize a woman's vaginal tract. This microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining overall vaginal health and preventing infections. In recent years, there has been growing evidence to suggest that the vaginal microbiome may also play a role in the development of preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and damage to organs such as the liver and kidneys. Studies have shown that women with preeclampsia have a different vaginal microbiome compared to women who do not develop this condition. Specifically, the vaginal microbiome of women with preeclampsia is often depleted in certain beneficial microbes and enriched in pathogenic microbes. This imbalance in the vaginal microbiome has been linked to an increased risk of inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which have been implicated in the development of preeclampsia. The purpose of this study was to explore microbial co-occurrence patterns of the vaginal microbiome by building a microbial interaction network of the microbes that inhabit the vaginal microbiome in order to acquire a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to preeclampsia using an in-silico approach. We carried out the taxonomic classification of the vaginal microbiome samples categorized into Normotensive and Preeclampsia samples in order to examine compositional differences and uncover understudied microbes that may contribute to preeclampsia using a Galaxy workflow for microbiome data. The workflow consisted of quality-check using FASTQC and MultiQC, and taxonomic classification using Kraken2. Based on taxonomic classification results, we created a microbial co-interaction network based on calculated Spearman's correlation coefficient scores. Unique microbes were identified for each condition, which indicates their role in the occurrence of preeclampsia. Additionally, the co-interaction network was built only for strong interactions (([0.5&lt;ρ&lt;1] for positive interactions and [-1&lt;ρ&lt;-0.5] for negative interactions)) using Cytoscape. Hub microbes were identified using several measures of centrality, which implies their influence on the overall instability of the vaginal microbiome. <br> <br> •<b>Unique to Pre-eclampsia samples</b>: <i>Megasphaera, Aerococcus, Streptococcus, </i>and<i> Peptostreptococcus </i>(<b>All pathogenic</b>).<br> •<b>High in abundance in Pre-eclampsia samples</b>: <i>Aerococcus, Atopobium, Gardnerella, and more </i>(<b>All pathogenic</b>)<br> •<b>Lower abundance in Pre-eclampsia samples</b>: <i>Lactobacillus</i><br> •<b>Strong</b> positive interactions between pathogenic microbes, weak interactions with <i>Lactobacillus</i>.<br> •<b>Common Hub microbes</b><b>: </b><i>Ureaplasma</i>, and <i>Megasphaera (</i><b>Both pathogenic)</b><br> <br> In our research, we identified understudied microorganisms and their undiscovered co-interactions to demonstrate that focusing on the underlying mechanisms and contributions of specific microbes in conjunction with their co-interactors may significantly reduce the risk of preeclampsia by employing microbe-specific treatment strategies.