基于下一代测序的精液菌群研究进展

Progress in studies of seminal microbiome based on next-generation sequencing

精液菌群在男性生殖健康中发挥着重要作用,其构成可能与精子质量、少弱精子症的发生、辅助生殖技术妊娠结局相关。同时,由于精液菌群可能向伴侣及后代传递,因此对女性生殖健康及后代的健康都可能产生影响。常规细菌培养方法因耗时、条件限制等难以发现完整的精液菌群结构。下一代测序技术(NGS)可以揭示完整的精液菌群组成,有助于阐明人类生理学和病理生理学基础上复杂的微生物-宿主相互作用。本文就基于NGS研究的精液菌群构成、与男性不育症的关系、损伤精子质量的作用机制等内容进行综述,总结使用NGS来描述不同男性生殖道解剖部位的细菌定植模式的研究结果。目前的研究结果揭示了男性精液呈现独特的多样性菌群结构,精液菌群结构异常与精子质量和生育状态密切相关,精液可能具有支持健康功能的原生菌群。但迄今为止,精液菌群的来源、构成、及其对生育力和妊娠结局的影响尚不明确,精液菌群多样性影响精子的具体机制还需要具有大样本量和适当的对照标本进一步研究。

Seminal microbiome plays an important role in male reproductive health,and its composition may be associated with sperm quality,development of oligoasthenospermia,and pregnancy outcomes of assisted reproductive technology.Seminal microbiome may be transmitted to the partner and offspring,and consequently affect female reproduction and the health of offspring.The complete structure of seminal microbiome is difficult to find by conventional bacterial culture due to the length of time taken and restriction of condition.Next-generation sequencing(NGS)can reveal the complete composition of seminal microbiome and help elucidate the complex microbial-host interactions based on human physiology and pathophysiology.This review focuses on the composition of seminal microbiome,its relationship with male infertility and the mechanism of its impairing sperm quality based on NGS,and summarizes the results of NGS-based studies on the patterns of bacterial colonization in different anatomical parts of the male reproductive tract.Current studies have revealed a unique diversity of seminal microbiome structures,a close correlation of abnormal seminal microbiome structure with sperm quality and male fertility,and a possible probiotic microbiome in semen capable of supporting health function.So far,the source and composition of seminal microbiome,and its influence on fertility and pregnancy outcome are not yet clear,and the specific mechanism of its diversity affecting sperm needs to be further studied with larger sample sizes and appropriate control specimens.