Prenatal transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV) may occur via the placenta. HPV infection has been suggested to elicit adverse effects on pregnancy. Eleven studies have reported the prevalence of HPV DNA in the placenta to be 3-75%. The review by Ambuhl et al (2016) reported an overall HPV prevalence of 8.3% in normal full-term pregnancies.
Recently, the paradigm of sterile fetal life has been challenged. It has been suggested that the healthy human placenta may have a distinct microbiota (Aagaard et al., 2014; Collado et al., 2016). There are experimental data to suggest that virus-bacterial interaction in the placenta may lead to detrimental fetal and maternal outcomes (Mor and Kwon, 2015). Furthermore, changes in vaginal microbiota may be involved in HPV acquisition and persistence.
As of now, nothing is known about the association between HPV infection and the recently discovered placental microbiome. In this presentation, data regarding the influence of the HPV status on bacterial microbiota composition in the placenta will be discussed.
Aagard et al., The placenta harbors a unique microbiome. Sci Transl Med 2014;6:237a65
Ambuhl et al., Human papillomavirus infection as a possible cause of spontaneous abortion and spontaneous preterm delivery. Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol 2016;2016:3086036.
Collado et al., Human gut colonization may be initiated in utero by distinct microbial communitites in the placenta and amniotic fluid. Sci Rep 2016;6:23139.
Mor G and Kwon JY. Trophoblast-microbiome interaction: a new paradigm on immune regulation. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2015;213:S131-7.