Open AccessGenital Inflammation Predicts HIV-1 Shedding Independent of Plasma Viral Load and Systemic Inflammation
Author(s) -
Catherine A. Blish,
R. Scott McClelland,
Barbra A. Richardson,
Walter Jaoko,
Kishorchandra Mandaliya,
Jared M. Baeten,
Julie Overbaugh
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.162
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1944-7884
pISSN - 1525-4135
DOI - 10.1097/qai.0b013e31826c2edd
Subject(s) - inflammation , viral load , immunology , sex organ , viral shedding , transmission (telecommunications) , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , systemic inflammation , cytokine , lentivirus , medicine , virology , biology , viral disease , virus , genetics , electrical engineering , engineering
In women, genital HIV-1 RNA levels predict the risk of HIV-1 transmission independent of plasma viral load. To better understand the factors that contribute to genital HIV-1 shedding, we evaluated the relationships between genital and plasma cytokine concentrations and HIV-1 RNA levels. Vaginal, but not plasma, levels of interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10) were significantly associated with vaginal viral load, independent of plasma viral load. Thus, efforts to decrease HIV-1 transmission must take into account the role of local inflammation, which is not necessarily reflected in plasma measurements.