Abstract
Epidemiologic studies indicate that bacterial vaginosis (BV), a common alteration of lower genital tract flora in women, is associated with increased susceptibility to HIV infection. Other recent studies show that HIV is detected more frequently and at higher levels in the lower genital tract of HIV-seropositive women with BV. In vitro studies show that genital tract secretions from women with BV or flora associated with BV induce HIV expression in infected cells. The increased HIV expression appears to be due at least in part to activation through Toll-like receptors (TLR), specifically TLR2. Further research is needed to elucidate how BV contributes to HIV acquisition and transmission.
Highlights
bacterial vaginosis (BV) is associated with an increased risk of infections by HIV and some other organisms as discussed below, as well as with increased risk of preterm birth, which is a leading cause of infant death in the United States [6,7,8]
The results showed that genital fluids from women with BV stimulated cells predominantly through TLR2, while surprisingly there was relatively little stimulation through TLR4
We have investigated the hypothesis that genital tract secretions from women with BV might substantially affect either Dendritic cells (DC) antigen presenting function or DC uptake and infection by HIV
Summary
While it has become evident that BV has effects on HIV transmission, HIV genital tract levels and HIV expression in vitro, further work is needed to identify the mechanisms responsible for these effects. Monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC) were produced from monocytes isolated from the blood of normal donors using standard methods [46]. MDDC were incubated for 48 hours with either culture medium alone (Medium), lipopolysaccharide at 1 μg/ml (LPS), or genital tract secretions collected by cervicalvaginal lavage from women with BV (BV CVL) or normal flora (Normal CVL). MDDC were produced and treated with either Medium alone, BV CVL, Normal CVL or LPS for 48 hr as described in the Figure 1 legend. Treated MDDC were incubated with HIV-1Bal for 24 hr. ETFfifgceeucltrlseof3Bacterial Vaginosis on HIV transfer from MDDC to Effect of Bacterial Vaginosis on HIV transfer from MDDC to T cells. MDDC were produced and treated as described in the Figure 2 legend and exposed to HIV-Bal for 2 hours. New in vitro experimental systems or animal models are needed to help elucidate these mechanisms and are likely to lead to increased understanding of ways to prevent the spread of the HIV epidemic
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