Fig. 2

Live G. vaginalis increases epithelial barrier permeability. Cell permeability was measured in ectocervical, endocervical, and vaginal epithelial cells after 24-h exposure to live bacteria (A, C, E) or bacteria-free supernatants (B, D, F) of L. crispatus or G. vaginalis. Bacterial growth media alone acted as a negative control for the bacteria-free supernatants tested. Cell permeability is expressed as fluorescence OD measurements from a fluorescent plate reader and is indicative of the movement of FITC-dextran from the top to the bottom insert of a transwell chamber system. Values are mean ± SEM. Asterisks over the individual bars represent comparisons with control; asterisks over solid lines represent comparisons between treatment groups. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001