Research report ‘Genetic factors of host glycogen metabolism and its relationship with the vaginal microbiome’

In this retrospective data analysis project we aim to answer the question whether single nucleotide polymorphisms in the TCF7L2 gene (rs7903146-T and rs7903146-T) associated with type 2 diabetes are linked with composition of the vaginal microbiome in a multi-ethnic cohort of premenopausal women.

We received data of 199 female participants of the HELIUS project and excluded 5 participants because of antibiotic use or diabetes status. The data consisted of vaginal microbiome (VMB) composition, genotypes for SNP rs7903146 and rs12255372, fasting blood glucose level, ethnicity, age and immigration status. We posted our research proposal online prior to data analysis.. We posted our research proposal online prior to data analysis. To answer the main research questions we classified the various VMB groups as either Lactobacillus dominant (L. crispatus, L. iners or other Lactobacillus) or low Lactobacillus. No difference was detected between the two vaginal microbiome groups and alleles at either SNP.

Next we further specified Lactobacillus-dominant in either Lactobacillus crispatus or Lactobacillus iners and grouped all other VMB groups as ‘other’. Again, we saw no significant differences between Lactobacillus dominant microbiota and the type 2 diabetes risk alleles rs7903146-TT and rs12255732-TT.

We conclude that there is no significant association between two known type 2 diabetes risk alleles and vaginal microbial composition.