ESHRE selects an Instituto Bernabeu study on the vaginal microbiome for its 2024 congress

Dr Belén Lledó, scientific director of Instituto Bernabeu Biotech, will present a new study at the next European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) congress exploring the relationship between dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiome (when the vaginal flora is unbalanced) and cytokine levels in patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF).

The study found that the presence of certain microorganisms in the vagina affects the cytokines production, proteins that play an important role in the body’s inflammatory response. Patients with a dysbiotic vaginal microbiome have higher levels of the cytokine and the relative abundance of certain bacterial genera can predict the levels of these proteins, suggesting that some pathogenic bacteria may alter cytokine production.

These results, explains Dr Lledó, “could have important benefits for patients with recurrent implantation failure. The administration of antibiotics or probiotics could improve the immune environment in patients with an altered vaginal microbiome, thus avoiding the use of immunosuppressants”. According to Dr Lledó, “this discovery could improve implantation rates and thus reduce the inflammation associated with vaginal dysbiosis”.

This study has been selected as an oral communication at the ESHRE annual congress, which will be held in Amsterdam from the 7 to 10 July 2024.