Bacterial Pathogenesis: Vaginal Dynamics Between the Host and its Bacteria

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editors

Karine Dufresne

Department of Biological Sciences, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM)

Dr. Karine Dufresne is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM). She completed her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at the Université de Montréal in 2020. Following her doctoral studies, Dr. Dufresne conducted postdoctoral research under the guidance of Dr. John McCormick at the University of Western Ontario. Her research focused on the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus, utilizing models that simulate the human vaginal environment. Her expertise lies in studying bacterial gene regulation, bacterial interactions, and pathogenesis, particularly in relation to women’s health.

Annabelle Mathieu-Denoncourt

Department of Biological Sciences, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM)

Dr. Annabelle Mathieu-Denoncourt recently completed her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at Université de Montréal, where her research primarily focused on the bacterial pathogenesis of Vibrio cholerae. Currently, she is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Dufresne’s lab, investigating the co-culture interactions between Staphylococcus aureus and the yeast Candida albicans. Her research aims to understand the impact of their interactions on the vaginal tract and the consequences of this partnership on antibiotic resistance.

Collection Overview

The presence of microorganisms within the vagina is associated with both beneficial and pathogenic outcomes for women’s health including fertility, pregnancy, and infections. In cis-gender women, the vaginal tract is submitted to changes provoked by the variations of sexual hormones. These dynamics influence the microbial communities and provide a window of opportunity for bacterial pathogens to infect the reproductive organs. Women’s health is a rising topic in many fields, including microbiology.

This Methods Collection aims to compile research on different pathogens and the consequences of their associated vaginal infections. The collection focuses explicitly on bacteria linked to conditions such as bacterial vaginosis (BV), aerobic vaginitis (AV), and bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We invite method articles that utilize a diverse range of techniques, including in vitro mimicry, co-culture (interactions between bacteria or between bacteria and other microbes), cell culture, organoids, animal models, and assessments of vaginal outcomes (e.g., inflammatory signals or damage phenotypes).