Cervical HIV-specific IgA in a population of commercial sex workers correlates with repeated exposure but not resistance to HIV
Date
2009Author
Horton, Rachel E.
Ball, T. Blake
Wachichi, Charles
Jaoko Walter G.
Rutherford, W. John
Mckinnon, Lyle
Kaul, Rupert
Rebbapragada, Anu
Kimani, Joshua
Plummer, Frank A.
Language
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
We conducted a comprehensive cross-sectional analysis of total and HIV-specific cervical antibody levels in HIV-
1-resistant, uninfected, and infected women in order to examine the role of HIV-specific antibody responses in
the female genital tract and examine the effect on antibody levels of various epidemiologic factors in this
population. Cervical lavages were collected from 272 subjects of the Pumwani commercial sex worker cohort.
Total and HIV-specific genital tract IgA and IgG levels were measured using an ELISA and correlated with
behavioral and demographic factors. No significant difference was seen between cervical HIV-specific IgA levels
in infected, uninfected, and resistant individuals, nor were any correlations between cervical HIV-specific IgA
and neutralization capacity or viral shedding seen. We did, however, note increased HIV-specific IgA in HIVnegative
women with four or more clients per day, and decreased HIV-specific IgA in both long-term nonprogressors
and long-term survivors. These results show that there is not a strong cohort-wide correlation
between HIV-specific cervical IgA levels and resistance to infection by HIV-1 as previously believed, but there is
a correlation between exposure to HIV and HIV-specific cervical IgA. Our findings do not preclude the possibility
that functional differences in the cervical IgA of HEPS women may play a role in resistance, but argue that
HIV-specific responses may not be a universal protective factor. They also indicate that resistance to HIV is a
complex condition related to more factors than exposure. Further studies of correlates of immune protection in
these individuals would be beneficial to the field.
URI
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19108692http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/10018
Citation
AIDS RESEARCH AND HUMAN RETROVIRUSESCollections
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) [10377]