Fig. 7.

Correlation between bacterial species, antimicrobial peptides and cytokines before (A) and after (B) treatment in 56 treated women who subsequently had normal cytology, HPV negative at 6-month follow-up (Pearson correlation coefficient). Anaerobes such as Prevotella bivia (p = 0.02, Pearson’s correlation coefficient), Atopobium vaginae (p = 0.005, Pearson’s correlation coefficient), BVAB2 (p < 0.001, Pearson’s correlation coefficient), Streptomyces sp. (p < 0.001, Pearson’s correlation coefficient), and Gemella asaccharolytic (p < 0.001, Pearson’s correlation coefficient) were positively correlated with AMP expression prior to treatment, all of which were also positively correlated with expression of IL-1β (p < 0.001, Pearson’s correlation coefficient). After treatment, there is no significant change in bacterial composition, but AMP expression is no longer correlated with these bacterial species