Establishment of a Rapid Detection Method for Microorganisms in the Lower Genital Tract Using MALDI-TOF MS and Its Clinical Application in Infertility

Mycoplasma, chlamydia, and gonococcal infection of the female lower genital tract can lead to infertility and various adverse pregnancy outcomes. The lower genital tract bacterial community status type (CST) is closely related to genital tract infection and reproductive health. However, there is a need for a rapid, accurate, stable, and economical detection method to detect the above pathogens and CST at the same time, so there is also a need for evaluation of the correlation between each pathogen infection and CST. Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is more stable and accurate than traditional detection methods such as culture and staining. It can simultaneously detect a variety of microorganisms and their subtypes, while the high-throughput sequencing method is faster and more economical, which is suitable for detecting multiple microorganisms in clinical practice. The research group has established a perfect MALDI-TOF MS platform in the early stage and put it into clinical testing. This project will establish a new rapid detection method for lower genital tract microorganisms based on MALDI-TOF MS. Then, examine the lower genital tract microecology of infertile patients and healthy women using the newly developed method. At last, analyze the correlation between pathogen infection, CST status, and infertility. This project will solve the practical work needs of clinicians for a comprehensive assessment of female lower genital tract CST and common pathogen infection and fill in the technical gaps in the microbial examination of the lower genital tract.