Preterm birth (PTB) is defined as the birth of an infant before 37 weeks of gestational age. It is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. In this study, we present a comprehensive meta-analysis of vaginal microbiome in PTB. We integrated raw longitudinal 16S rRNA vaginal microbiome data from five independent studies across 3,201 samples and were able to gain new insights into the vaginal microbiome state in women who deliver preterm in comparison to those who deliver at term. We found that women who deliver prematurely show higher within-sample variance in vaginal microbiome abundance, with the most significant difference observed during the first trimester. Modeling the data longitudinally revealed a number of microbial genera as associated with PTB, including several that were previously known and two newly identified by this meta-analysis: Olsenella and Clostridium sensu stricto. New hypotheses emerging from this integrative analysis can lead to novel diagnostics to identify women who are at higher risk for PTB and potentially inform new therapeutic interventions.

中文翻译：

---

阴道微生物组数据的荟萃分析为早产提供了新的见解。

早产（PTB）定义为胎龄37周之前的婴儿出生。它是全世界围产期发病率和死亡率的主要原因。在这项研究中，我们对PTB阴道微生物组进行了全面的荟萃分析。我们整合了来自3,201个样本的五项独立研究的原始纵向16S rRNA阴道微生物组原始数据，能够对早产妇女与足月分娩妇女的阴道微生物组状态获得新的见解。我们发现，早产的妇女阴道微生物组丰度样本内差异较高，在孕早期观察到的差异最大。纵向建模数据揭示了与PTB相关的许多微生物属，包括先前已知的几种和通过本荟萃分析新鉴定的两种：Olsenella和Clostridium sensu stricto。从这种综合分析中得出的新假设可以导致新颖的诊断方法，以识别出罹患PTB风险较高的女性，并可能为新的治疗手段提供依据。