Role of MUC5B during Group B Streptococcal Vaginal Colonization

Abstract

Mucin glycoproteins are a major component that contributes to the complexity of the female reproductive tract (FRT). Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is present in the FRT of 25–30% of healthy women, but during pregnancy can ascend to the uterus to cause preterm birth and fetal infection in utero. Here we show that a prominent mucin found in the FRT, MUC5B, promotes host defense by inhibiting GBS interaction with epithelial cells found in the FRT and ascension from the vagina to the uterus in vivo .