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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Mar 27.
Published in final edited form as: AIDS. 2018 Mar 27;32(6):687–698. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001768

Table 1.

Studies using molecular techniques to examine the vaginal microbiome and HIV acquisition

Author (Year) Country/Region Study Population N (# HIV events) Method Main Findings Measure of Association Limitations
Gosmann et al (2017) [92] South Africa Women in Females Rising Through Education, Support, and Healthy (FRESH) Study 236 (31) 16S rRNA V4 gene sequencing

  1. Vaginal bacterial communities dominated by Gardnerella vaginalis (CT3) and by taxa other than Lactobacillus, L. iners, and G. vaginalis (CT4) associated with HIV acquisition1.

  2. Prevotella bivia 1, Prevotella melaninogenica, Veillonella montpellierensis, Mycoplasma, Prevotella bivia 2, and Sneathia sanguinegens associated with HIV.

 CT3: HR 4.22 (95% CI 1.06–16.88), p=0.042
CT4: HR 4.03 (95% CI 1.14–14.27) p=0.031

  1. HIV incidence analyses stratify by the presence of Chlamydia, but do not adjust for other potential confounding factors including for sexual risk behaviors.
Passmore and Williams (2016) [90] South Africa Women in CAPRISA 004 Trial 119 (49) V1-V3 rDNA sequencing

  1. Vaginal communities defined by Prevotella bivia (CST4) associated with inflammation and HIV acquisition1.

  2. P. bivia associated with HIV acquisition

 aOR 12.7, 95% CI 2.1–77.8, p=0.006

  1. Relatively small sample size

  2. Data described in abstract showed only unadjusted ratios.
McClellandet al. (2018) [78] Eastern and Southern Africa Female sex workers, pregnant/
postpartum, and HIV-negative women in discordant couples		 349 (87) Broad range PCR with deep sequencing and quantitative PCR

  1. HIV seroconversion with more vaginal microbial diversity

  2. Eggerthella species type 1, Gemella asaccharolytica, Leptotrichia/Sneathia, Megasphaera, and Mycoplasma hominis significantly associated with HIV acquisition

 Shannon Diversity Index median 0.9, (IQR 0.4–2.3) in HIV sero-converters compared to controls with median 0.7, (IQR 0.1–1.4), p=0.03

  1. Did not explore mechanistic explanations for the associations

Abbreviations: PCR: polymerase chain reaction; CT: cervicotypes; CST: community state types; aOR: adjusted odds ratio; IQR: interquartile range; HR: hazard ratio; CI: confidence interval

1

While CTs and CSTs both describe vaginal communities by relative abundance, the specific processes for defining these communities are different.