FIG 2.

Endocervical epithelium overexpresses matrix metalloproteinases in response to BVAB. Endocervical cell lines A2EN (A) and End1 (B) were cocultured with A. vaginae (red bars) or one of three indicated Lactobacillus species (gray bars) representing healthy vaginal flora bacteria at an MOI of 5. After 24 h, conditioned media were collected, and concentrations of MMP isotypes were determined using a multiplex immunoassay (Bio-Rad’s Pro Human MMP panel). Fold induction was determined by comparison to MMP expression in mock-treated cells. Bars and error bars represent the means and SEMs, respectively. n = 4 or 5 for each bacterium tested. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01 by paired two-tailed Student’s t tests.