Vaginal lipidomics of women with vulvovaginal candidiasis and cytolytic vaginosis: A non-targeted LC-MS pilot study.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the lipid profile in vaginal discharge of women with vulvovaginal candidiasis, cytolytic vaginosis, or no vaginal infection or dysbiosis.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Genital Infections Ambulatory, Department of Tocogynecology, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo-Brazil.

SAMPLE: Twenty-four women were included in this study: eight with vulvovaginal candidiasis, eight with cytolytic vaginosis and eight with no vaginal infections or dysbiosis (control group).

METHODS

The lipid profile in vaginal discharge of the different study groups was determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and further analyzed with MetaboAnalyst 3.0 platform.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Vaginal lipids concentration and its correlation with vulvovaginal candidiasis and cytolytic vaginosis.

RESULTS

PCA, PLS-DA and hierarchical clustering analyses indicated 38 potential lipid biomarkers for the different groups, correlating with oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis and integrity of the vaginal epithelial tissue. Among these, greater concentrations were found for Glycochenodeoxycholic acid-7-sulfate, O-adipoylcarnitine, 1-eicosyl-2-heptadecanoyl-glycero-3-phosphoserine, undecanoic acid, formyl dodecanoate and lipoic acid in the vulvovaginal candidiasis group; N-(tetradecanoyl)-sphinganine, DL-PPMP, 1-oleoyl-cyclic phosphatidic, palmitic acid and 5-aminopentanoic acid in the cytolytic vaginosis group; and 1-nonadecanoyl-glycero-3-phosphate, eicosadienoic acid, 1-stearoyl-cyclic-phosphatidic acid, 1-(9Z,12Z-heptadecadienoyl)-glycero-3-phosphate, formyl 9Z-tetradecenoate and 7Z,10Z-hexadecadienoic acid in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

Lipids related to oxidative stress and apoptosis were found in higher concentrations in women with vulvovaginal candidiasis and cytolytic vaginosis, while lipids related to epithelial tissue integrity were more pronounced in the control group. Furthermore, in women with cytolytic vaginosis, we observed higher concentrations of lipids related to bacterial overgrowth.