Abstract:
Objective: To investigate the differential expression of enolase in the membrane and cytoplasm of
Gardnerella vaginalis and
Lactobacillus strains, and to compare the differences in their glycolytic abilities.
Methods:
Gardnerella strains were isolated, purified, and identified from vaginal secretions of patients with bacterial vaginosis.
Lactobacillus strains were isolated from vaginal secretions of healthy women and cultured
in vitro for a period of time under the same conditions. The residual concentrations of glucose, lactate, pyruvate, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the bacterial solution were detected. The membrane and cytoplasmic proteins of
Gardnerella and
Lactobacillus were extracted respectively, and the enolase levels in the cytoplasm and membrane were detected by western blotting.
Results: The residual glucose content in the culture medium of
Gardnerella was decreased significantly, while the residual glucose content in the culture medium of
Lactobacillus was relatively higher, and there was significant difference between the two groups (
P<0.05); the amount of ATP produced by
Gardnerella was significantly higher than that of
Lactobacillus (
P<0.05). When enolase antibodies were added to the reaction system, the amount of residual glucose was increased, while the amount of ATP, lactate, and pyruvate was decreased. Enolase was present in the cytoplasm of all
Gardnerella and
Lactobacillus, and the content of enolase in
Gardnerella was significantly higher than that in
Lactobacillus (
P<0.05). Only some
Gardnerella and
Lactobacillus strains had enolase on their cell membranes, and the content of enolase on
Gardnerella cell membranes was significantly higher than that on
Lactobacillus cell membranes (
P<0.05).
Conclusion: There is a certain difference in the expression of enolase between
Gardnerella vaginalis and
Lactobacillus, which to some extent affects the metabolic ability of the two strains.