Genetic susceptibility to recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in an African population from Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) affects 75% of women worldwide at least once in their lifetime, with up to 9% of women experiencing recurrent episodes (RVVC). Genetic differences may play a role in women developing recurrent VVC infections. Thus, we investigated genetic host factors that may...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95772-7 |
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| author | Gloria S. Omosa-Manyonyi Isis Ricano Ponce Diletta Rosati Mariolina Bruno Nelly W. Kamau Moses M. Obimbo Martin Jaeger Andre J. A. M. van der Ven Mihai G. Netea Vinod Kumar Jaap Ten Oever |
| author_facet | Gloria S. Omosa-Manyonyi Isis Ricano Ponce Diletta Rosati Mariolina Bruno Nelly W. Kamau Moses M. Obimbo Martin Jaeger Andre J. A. M. van der Ven Mihai G. Netea Vinod Kumar Jaap Ten Oever |
| author_sort | Gloria S. Omosa-Manyonyi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) affects 75% of women worldwide at least once in their lifetime, with up to 9% of women experiencing recurrent episodes (RVVC). Genetic differences may play a role in women developing recurrent VVC infections. Thus, we investigated genetic host factors that may increase the risk of RVVC in women from an African population. We conducted a case–control study in women in Nairobi Kenya, to identify genetic risk factors for RVVC. Our genome-wide association study compared women with RVVC (n = 174) to those with acute VVC (n = 157), and with controls (n = 347). The control group included both symptomatic but uninfected women (n = 246) and asymptomatic/healthy women (n = 101). We identified several genomic variants linked to increased RVVC susceptibility (P < 10–5), with the key ones being SNP rs8181503 found near the MS4A12 gene (P = 9.28 × 10–7, odds ratio (OR) = 0.46), and SNP rs58936172 located near the TMEM39A gene (P = 8.96 × 10–6, OR = 2.42). Pathway enrichment analysis revealed enrichment of genetic variants linked to increased risk of RVVC in genes involved in metabolic, disease signalling, and cell adhesion pathways. These included pathways related to gluconeogenesis, fatty acid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, pentose phosphate, chemotaxis, and fibroblast growth factor signalling pathways. The genes and pathways identified in our study may help to understand the susceptibility to RVVC in African populations, to improve patient care. |
| format | Article |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-1132e18fcafb4f80b3e26fbe684675ae2025-08-20T02:16:59ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-95772-7Genetic susceptibility to recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in an African population from Nairobi, KenyaGloria S. Omosa-Manyonyi0Isis Ricano Ponce1Diletta Rosati2Mariolina Bruno3Nelly W. Kamau4Moses M. Obimbo5Martin Jaeger6Andre J. A. M. van der Ven7Mihai G. Netea8Vinod Kumar9Jaap Ten Oever10Faculty of Health Sciences, University of NairobiDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical CenterDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical CenterDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical CenterFaculty of Health Sciences, University of NairobiFaculty of Health Sciences, University of NairobiDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical CenterDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical CenterDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical CenterDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical CenterDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical CenterAbstract Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) affects 75% of women worldwide at least once in their lifetime, with up to 9% of women experiencing recurrent episodes (RVVC). Genetic differences may play a role in women developing recurrent VVC infections. Thus, we investigated genetic host factors that may increase the risk of RVVC in women from an African population. We conducted a case–control study in women in Nairobi Kenya, to identify genetic risk factors for RVVC. Our genome-wide association study compared women with RVVC (n = 174) to those with acute VVC (n = 157), and with controls (n = 347). The control group included both symptomatic but uninfected women (n = 246) and asymptomatic/healthy women (n = 101). We identified several genomic variants linked to increased RVVC susceptibility (P < 10–5), with the key ones being SNP rs8181503 found near the MS4A12 gene (P = 9.28 × 10–7, odds ratio (OR) = 0.46), and SNP rs58936172 located near the TMEM39A gene (P = 8.96 × 10–6, OR = 2.42). Pathway enrichment analysis revealed enrichment of genetic variants linked to increased risk of RVVC in genes involved in metabolic, disease signalling, and cell adhesion pathways. These included pathways related to gluconeogenesis, fatty acid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, pentose phosphate, chemotaxis, and fibroblast growth factor signalling pathways. The genes and pathways identified in our study may help to understand the susceptibility to RVVC in African populations, to improve patient care.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95772-7Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasisCandidaGenetic polymorphismsCytokines |
| spellingShingle | Gloria S. Omosa-Manyonyi Isis Ricano Ponce Diletta Rosati Mariolina Bruno Nelly W. Kamau Moses M. Obimbo Martin Jaeger Andre J. A. M. van der Ven Mihai G. Netea Vinod Kumar Jaap Ten Oever Genetic susceptibility to recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in an African population from Nairobi, Kenya Scientific Reports Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis Candida Genetic polymorphisms Cytokines |
| title | Genetic susceptibility to recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in an African population from Nairobi, Kenya |
| title_full | Genetic susceptibility to recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in an African population from Nairobi, Kenya |
| title_fullStr | Genetic susceptibility to recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in an African population from Nairobi, Kenya |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genetic susceptibility to recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in an African population from Nairobi, Kenya |
| title_short | Genetic susceptibility to recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in an African population from Nairobi, Kenya |
| title_sort | genetic susceptibility to recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in an african population from nairobi kenya |
| topic | Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis Candida Genetic polymorphisms Cytokines |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95772-7 |
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