Neovaginal Secretions Contain Diverse Communities of Anaerobic Bacteria

By: Chelsea Alcala Microbial community structures found via mass spectrometry in neovaginal, rectal, and vaginal compartments of transgender and cisgender women. Figure taken from Birse et al. 2020.  Women who undergo gender reassignment surgery have fundamentally different vaginas from that of ciswomen, called neovaginas. Neovaginas are constructed (neovaginoplasty) through penile inversion, scrotal/sigmoid colon grafts, or a combination of the former mentioned. However, unlike ciswomen, not much is known about this organ's microbiome which plays a critical role in the sustainability of infection(s), inflammation, epithelial barrier function, & overall neovaginal health. Using a metaproteomics technique this study, carried out by Birse and colleagues, mapped and classified the microbial composition of neovaginal/rectal secretions (transwomen) and compared them with vaginal secretions (ciswomen). Metaproteomics identified 541 distinct bacterial proteins from 38 taxa. The m...