Type 2 diabetes mellitus exacerbates vaginal group B Streptococcus colonization via impaired mucosal cytokine response

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a metabolic disorder that confers increased risk of microbial infections, including those caused by the opportunistic pathogen group B Streptococcus (GBS). Asymptomatic GBS carriage in the vaginal tract is a notable reservoir for infection, but the impact of T2D on the vaginal mucosa and GBS colonization is not fully understood. We employed a diet-induced mouse model of T2D paired with vaginal GBS colonization to investigate the impact of diabetes on glucose availability, vaginal microbiome composition, and vaginal cytokine profiles at baseline and in response to GBS. We observed enhanced susceptibility of diabetic mice to GBS vaginal colonization and reproductive tract dissemination. Despite experiencing hyperglycemia, diabetic mice did not exhibit elevated glucose in the reproductive tract. Regarding the vaginal microbiota, diabetic mice had minimal compositional differences with decreased Mammaliicoccus being the only significant taxonomic variance. Vaginal cytokine profiling revealed consistently depressed cytokines in diabetic mice, beginning with KC at baseline and expanding to an array of eight pro-inflammatory cytokines post-GBS infection. Pairing cytokine observations with GBS colonization outcomes revealed a correlation between delayed vaginal IL-1 induction and persistent vaginal GBS, suggesting that vaginal cytokine deficiency may contribute to diabetic GBS vaginal colonization. Supplementation with intravaginal rIL-1 was sufficient to resolve GBS burden differences between diabetic mice and non-diabetic controls, confirming that deficient vaginal cytokine responses contribute to diabetic GBS vaginal persistence. These findings advance our understanding of diabetic vaginal mucosal susceptibility to pathogens and support the potential for immunological intervention in the susceptible diabetic population.