Symbiotic Balance and Dysbiosis of the Female Reproductive Tract: From Physiological Regulation to Reproductive Health

This Research Topic aims to address the critical gaps in understanding how symbiotic microbial communities throughout the female reproductive tract sustain physiological homeostasis, influence reproductive function, and modulate pregnancy outcomes. While traditional research often focuses on localized pathological infections, the fundamental physiological impact of tract-wide host-microbe symbiosis on long-term reproductive and maternal-fetal health remains poorly defined. We seek to gather cutting-edge research that elucidates the molecular mechanisms, metabolic shifts, and host immune modulations arising from these non-clinical symbiotic relationships across different life stages. To achieve this, the collection will focus on identifying site-specific microbial signatures associated with normal physiological states and benign gynecological conditions, mapping the dynamics of symbiotic and dysbiotic shifts during gestation, and exploring fundamental microbiome interactions that preserve mutualistic balance. Ultimately, this topic intends to advance basic host-microbe symbiosis insights to better understand normal and altered reproductive physiology.The female reproductive tract harbors complex, site-specific microbial ecosystems engaged in a mutualistic relationship with the host that is vital for physiological homeostasis and successful reproduction. Breakdown of this symbiosis is increasingly linked to a wide spectrum of physiological and tissue-level challenges, ranging from changes associated with endometriosis, Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS), and altered tissue states, to gestational variations. During pregnancy, the reproductive microbiome undergoes crucial physiological remodeling to maintain a stable symbiotic state; disruptions in this baseline process can trigger structural changes like premature cervical ripening, ascend into the upper reproductive tract, and alter local tissue environments at the maternal-fetal interface. Such loss of microbial symbiosis is heavily implicated in altered gestational trajectories, atypical labor timing, and pregnancy complications. Transitioning to a comprehensive, system-wide physiological approach is therefore essential to fully uncover how these interconnected symbiotic niches modulate tissue microenvironments and dictate normal function from conception to birth.This topic welcomes contributions exploring host-microbe and microbe-microbe symbiosis across all sites of the female reproductive system in relation to physiological regulation, tissue homeostasis, and reproductive health. We encourage submissions on themes including:• Molecular mechanisms of host-microbe symbiotic interactions in reproductive tissue physiology or gestational processes; • The fundamental role of the reproductive microbiome in fertility, endometrial receptivity, and early pregnancy maintenance; • Microbial signatures and physiological indicators associated with reproductive variations or benign tissue states; • Fundamental biological strategies, such as mutualistic microbial dynamics, aimed at preserving or understanding reproductive tract symbiosis; • Microbe-microbe cooperative and competitive interactions shaping community stability within reproductive tract niches; • Vertical transmission and establishment of maternal symbiotic microbiota in the neonate and its foundational developmental consequences. Topic editors: Wing Tung LEE, Tsung-Ying Yang Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84785/symbiotic-balance-and-dysbiosis-of-the-female-reproductive-tract-from-physiological-regulation-to-reproductive-health