Setting of methods for analysis of mucosal antibodies in seminal and vaginal fluids of HIV seropositive subjects from Cambodian and Italian cohorts.

Background: Genital mucosae play a key role in protection from STD and HIV infection, due to their involvement in both horizontal and vertical disease transmission. High variability of published observations concerning IgA isolation and quantification underlies the strong requirement of specific methods able to maximize investigation on HIV-specific IgA.

Methodology: Genital fluids from 109 subjects, including male and female cohorts from Italy and Cambodia, were collected, aliquoted and processed with different techniques, to assess optimal conditions maximizing mucosal antibody recovery.