Characterization of the Influence of Semen-Derived Enhancer of Virus Infection on the Interaction of HIV-1 with Female Reproductive Tract Tissues.

Unlabelled: The majority of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transmission events occur in women when semen harboring infectious virus is deposited onto the mucosal barriers of the vaginal, ectocervical, and endocervical epithelia. Seminal factors such as semen-derived enhancer of virus infection (SEVI) fibrils were previously shown to greatly enhance the infectivity of HIV-1 in cell culture systems. However, when SEVI is intravaginally applied to living animals, there is no effect on vaginal transmission.

Identification of capsid mutations that alter the rate of HIV-1 uncoating in infected cells.

Unlabelled: After viral fusion with the cell membrane, the conical capsid of HIV-1 disassembles by a process called uncoating. We recently utilized the cyclosporine (CsA) washout assay, in which TRIM-CypA-mediated restriction of viral replication is used to detect the state of the viral capsid, to study the kinetics of uncoating in HIV-1-infected cells. Here we have extended this analysis to examine the effects of p24 capsid protein (p24(CA)) mutations and cellular environment on the kinetics of uncoating in infected cells.

No difference in keratin thickness between inner and outer foreskins from elective male circumcisions in Rakai, Uganda.

It has been hypothesized that increased HIV acquisition in uncircumcised men may relate to a more thinly keratinized inner foreskin. However, published data are contradictory and potentially confounded by medical indications for circumcision. We tested the hypothesis that the inner foreskin was more thinly keratinized than the outer foreskin using tissues from 19 healthy, HIV-uninfected men undergoing routine prophylactic circumcision in Rakai, Uganda.

Expression of structural proteins in human female and male genital epithelia and implications for sexually transmitted infections.

Men and women differ in their susceptibility to sexually transmittable infections (STIs) such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, a paucity of published information regarding the tissue structure of the human genital tract has limited our understanding of these gender differences. We collected cervical, vaginal, and penile tissues from human adult donors.