Effectiveness of vaginal probiotics Lactobacillus crispatus chen-01 in women with high-risk HPV infection: a prospective controlled pilot study

Abstract

Female genital tract infection with high-risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV) has the risk of developing into cervical cancer, and there is still a lack of effective therapeutic strategies. Probiotic intervention is considered as a potential intervention for HR-HPV, while exploration into living probiotic preparations for specific diseases remains limited and insufficient. This prospective controlled pilot study was conducted to observe the effect of intravaginal transplantation of a vaginal isolated natural probiotic strain, <i>Lactobacillus crispatus</i> chen-01, on the clearance of high-risk HPV infection. 100 women with high-risk HPV infection were enrolled and randomly divided into placebo group and probiotic treatment group, which received intravaginal transplantation of <i>L. crispatus</i> chen-01. Cervical exfoliated cells were collected 6 months later for detecting DNA load, typing of HPV, and cytological analysis. Our results showed that vaginal transplantation with <i>L. crispatus</i> chen-01 significantly reduced viral load of HPV, ameliorated HPV clearance rate, and improved vaginal inflammation state without causing obvious adverse reactions. Analysis of 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that <i>L. crispatus</i> chen-01 could effectively reconstitute the vaginal microbiota in women with high-risk HPV, which might be one of the underlying mechanisms of the beneficial effect of <i>L. crispatus</i> chen-01 transplantation. Our results suggested that vaginal transplantation of <i>L. crispatus</i> chen-01 might be a promising treatment for patients with high-risk HPV infection.