Childhood sexual abuse, alcohol problem scores, and race are associated with syphilis incidence in a prospective cohort of young sexual and gender minority adults assigned male at birth.

Background: Syphilis rates in the United States have dramatically increased in recent years and are high among young men who have sex with men and transgender women. Yet, few studies have examined a wide-range of risk factors for syphilis incidence prospectively in young sexual and gender minority (YSGM) populations in the U.S.

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes to study inflammation-induced aberrant calcium transient.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is commonly found in persons living with HIV (PLWH) even when antiretroviral therapy suppresses HIV viremia. However, studying this condition has been challenging because an appropriate animal model is not available. In this article, we studied calcium transient in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) in culture to simulate the cardiomyocyte relaxation defect noted in PLWH and HFpEF and assess whether various drugs have an effect.

Asymptomatic Rectal Bacterial Pathogens Show Large Prospective Relationships With HIV Incidence in a Cohort of Young Sexual and Gender Minorities: Implications for STI Screening and HIV Prevention.

Background: We estimated the predictive value of rectal (bacterial sexually transmitted infection [bSTI]) pathogen detection for future HIV seroconversion among young adult sexual and gender minorities (YSGMs) assigned male at birth (AMAB).

Methods: Data were collected between March 2018 and August 2022 from RADAR, a longitudinal cohort study of YSGMs AMAB living in the Chicago metropolitan area (n = 1022). Rates of rectal bSTIs and the proportion of self-reported rectal bSTI symptoms are reported.

Northwestern University resource and education development initiatives to advance collaborative artificial intelligence across the learning health system.

Introduction: The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare has exposed the unmet need for growing a multidisciplinary workforce that can collaborate effectively in the learning health systems. Maximizing the synergy among multiple teams is critical for Collaborative AI in Healthcare.

Methods: We have developed a series of data, tools, and educational resources for cultivating the next generation of multidisciplinary workforce for Collaborative AI in Healthcare.

The Global Impact of Diversifying PrEP Options: Results of an International Discrete Choice Experiment of Existing and Potential PrEP Strategies with Gay and Bisexual Men and Physicians.

To improve current and future use of existing (oral, injectable) and potential future (implants, douches) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) products, we must understand product preferences relative to one another, among gay and bisexual men (GBM), and physicians who prescribe PrEP. We completed an online discrete choice experiment (DCE) with separate groups of GBM and/or physicians from the United States, South Africa, Spain, and Thailand. Participants were presented information on PrEP products, including daily pills, event-driven pills (2-1-1 regimen), injections, subdermal implants (dissolvable, removable), and rectal douches.

Syphilis Prevalence, Incidence, and Demographic Differences in a Longitudinal Study of Young Sexual and Gender Minority Adults Assigned Male at Birth.

Background: Syphilis rates in the United States have increased. Few studies have examined syphilis incidence and prevalence prospectively among young sexual and gender minorities (YSGM).

Methods: This study of YSGM assigned male at birth comes from a Chicago-based prospective cohort at 2 visits 6 months apart (N = 882).

Barriers and facilitators to recruitment of underrepresented research participants: Perspectives of clinical research coordinators.

Background: Insufficient recruitment of groups underrepresented in medical research threatens the generalizability of research findings and compounds inequity in research and medicine. In the present study, we examined barriers and facilitators to recruitment of underrepresented research participants from the perspective of clinical research coordinators (CRCs).

Methods: CRCs from one adult and one pediatric academic medical centers completed an online survey in April-May 2022.

Analysis of the Contribution of 6-mer Seed Toxicity to HIV-1-Induced Cytopathicity.

HIV-1 (HIV) infects CD4 T cells, the gradual depletion of which can lead to AIDS in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Some cells, however, survive HIV infection and persist as part of the latently infected reservoir that causes recurrent viremia after ART cessation. Improved understanding of the mechanisms of HIV-mediated cell death could lead to a way to clear the latent reservoir.

Problematic Cannabis Use Is Associated with Reduced Rectal Microbial Species Richness and Diversity Among a Pilot Sample of Young Sexual and Gender Minorities.

Compared to young heterosexual men, young sexual and gender minorities (YSGM) have elevated systemic inflammation and unique intestinal microbial profiles, influenced by HIV infection and substance use. However, links between cannabis use and microbial dysbiosis in this population have not been well described. In this pilot study, we aimed to characterize the complex interrelationships between cannabis use and microbial community structure in YSGM in relationship to HIV status.

HIV-1 infected humanized DRAGA mice develop HIV-specific antibodies despite lack of canonical germinal centers in secondary lymphoid tissues.

A major barrier in the use of humanized mice as models of HIV-1 (HIV) infection is the inadequate generation of virus-specific antibody responses. Humanized DRAGA (hDRAGA) mice generate antigen-specific class switched antibodies to several pathogens, but whether they do so in HIV infection and the extent to which their secondary lymphoid tissues (sLT) support germinal center responses is unknown. hDRAGA mice were evaluated for their ability to support HIV replication, generate virus-specific antibody responses, develop splenocyte subsets, and organize sLT architecture.

Follicular regulatory T cells eliminate HIV-1-infected follicular helper T cells in an IL-2 concentration dependent manner.

Follicular helper CD4 T cells (TFH) are highly permissive to HIV and major foci of virus expression in both untreated and treated infection. Follicular regulatory CD4 T cells (TFR) limit TFH numbers and function and . We evaluated the hypothesis that TFR suppress HIV replication in TFH using a well-established model of ex vivo HIV infection that employs tonsil cells from HIV uninfected individuals spinoculated with CXCR4- and CCR5-tropic HIV-GFP reporter viruses.

Gut dysbiosis and inflammatory blood markers precede HIV with limited changes after early seroconversion.

Background: Alterations in the gut microbiome have been associated with HIV infection, but the relative impact of HIV versus other factors on the gut microbiome has been difficult to determine in cross-sectional studies.

Methods: To address this, we examined the gut microbiome, serum metabolome, and cytokines longitudinally within 27 individuals before and during acute HIV using samples collected from several ongoing cohort studies. Matched control participants (n=28) from the same cohort studies without HIV but at similar behavioral risk were used for comparison.

Preferences Among Physicians and Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) for a Long-Acting, Removable Implant for HIV Prevention: A Discrete Choice Study.

A longer acting, removable implant for HIV prevention has the potential to improve uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) by removing the need for daily adherence to an oral tablet, reducing potential side effects, and eliminating concerns about residual drug following injections. To end the HIV epidemic, we must understand the needs and preferences of groups most affected by HIV (e.g.

mTOR regulation of metabolism limits LPS-induced monocyte inflammatory and procoagulant responses.

Translocated lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activates monocytes via TLR4 and is hypothesized to increase cardiovascular disease risk in persons living with HIV. We tested whether mTOR activity supports LPS-stimulated monocyte production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and tissue factor (TF), as it propels the inflammatory response in several immune cell types besides monocytes. However, multi-omics analyses here demonstrate that mTOR activates a metabolic pathway that limits abundance of these gene products in monocytes.

COVID-19 symptom severity predicts neutralizing antibody activity in a community-based serological study.

Serological testing for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies is used to assess their presence in blood samples from exposed individuals and provides a measure of the magnitude of immune response to infection. The measurement of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) in particular provides information about the severity of prior infection and level of protective immunity against re-infection. Much of the work investigating the association between prior infection severity and NAb levels has been conducted among clinical populations, and less is known about this relationship in the general population.

Preservation of lymphocyte functional fitness in perinatally-infected and treated HIV+ pediatric patients displaying sub-optimal viral control.

Background: Host-pathogen dynamics associated with HIV infection are quite distinct in children versus adults. We interrogated the functional fitness of the lymphocyte responses in two cohorts of perinatally infected HIV+ pediatric subjects with early anti-retroviral therapy (ART) initiation but divergent patterns of virologic control. We hypothesized that sub-optimal viral control would compromise immune functional fitness.

Low Levels of Neutralizing Antibodies After Natural Infection With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in a Community-Based Serological Study.

Background: Confidence in natural immunity after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is one reason for vaccine hesitancy.

Methods: We measured antibody-mediated neutralization of spike protein-ACE2 receptor binding in a large community-based sample of seropositive individuals who differed in severity of infection (N = 790).

Results: A total of 39.

Does body mass index explain the apparent anti-inflammatory effects of cannabis use? Results From a cohort study of sexual and gender minority youth.

Background: Cannabis use has been linked to lower systemic inflammation, but the pathways connecting cannabis use and systemic inflammation are unclear. Here we investigate whether body mass index (BMI) accounts for the association between cannabis use and systemic inflammation in a cohort of sexual and gender minority youth assigned male at birth (n = 712).

Methods: Substance use was assessed across six biannual visits.

Forecasting HIV-1 Genetic Cluster Growth in Illinois,United States.

Background: HIV intervention activities directed toward both those most likely to transmit and their HIV-negative partners have the potential to substantially disrupt HIV transmission. Using HIV sequence data to construct molecular transmission clusters can reveal individuals whose viruses are connected. The utility of various cluster prioritization schemes measuring cluster growth have been demonstrated using surveillance data in New York City and across the United States, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Do partner services linked to molecular clusters yield people with viremia or new HIV?

Objectives: We examined whether molecular cluster membership was associated with public health identification of HIV transmission potential among named partners in Chicago.

Design: Historical cohort study.

Methods: We matched and analyzed HIV surveillance and partner services data from HIV diagnoses (2012-2016) prior to implementation of cluster detection and response interventions.

Conjoint Analysis of User Acceptability of Sustained Long-Acting Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV.

Long-acting delivery modalities of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), such as subdermal implants, are in development. To facilitate end-user uptake and sustained use, it is critical to understand potential consumers' and physician prescribers' preferences about, interest in, and relative importance of different implant features. The ordered identification of these key attributes allows implant developers to incorporate this feedback into product design, which theoretically improves acceptability, feasibility, and user experience with the device.

Geographic disparities in COVID-19 case rates are not reflected in seropositivity rates using a neighborhood survey in Chicago.

To date, COVID-19 case rates are disproportionately higher in Black and Latinx communities across the US, leading to more hospitalizations, and deaths in those communities. These differences in case rates are evident in comparisons of Chicago neighborhoods with differing race and/or ethnicities of their residents. Disparities could be due to neighborhoods with more adverse health outcomes associated with poverty and other social determinants of health experiencing higher prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection or due to greater morbidity and mortality resulting from equivalent SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence.