A Protocol for the Multi-Omic Integration of Cervical Microbiota and Urine Metabolomics to Understand Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-Driven Dysbiosis

Abstract

The multi-omic integration of microbiota data with metabolomics has gained popularity. This protocol is based on a human multi-omics study, integrating cervicovaginal microbiota, HPV status and neoplasia, with urinary metabolites. Indeed, to understand the biology of the infections and to develop adequate interventions for cervical cancer prevention, studies are needed to characterize in detail the cervical microbiota and understand the systemic metabolome. This article is a detailed protocol for the multi-omic integration of cervical microbiota and urine metabolome to shed light on the systemic effects of cervical dysbioses associated with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections. This methods article suggests detailed sample collection and laboratory processes of metabolomics, DNA extraction for microbiota, HPV typing, and the bioinformatic analyses of the data, both to characterize the metabolome, the microbiota, and joint multi-omic analyses, useful for the development of new point-of-care diagnostic tests based on these approaches.