Research has shown that certain distinct microbial profiles of the female reproductive tract, referred to as “cervicotypes,” (CT) are associated with an elevated risk of HIV acquisition. Data was taken from the FRESH cohort, which is a group of women in the Umlazi Township near the city of Durban, South Africa. This cohort is at an extremely elevated risk of acquiring HIV; 66% of females acquire HIV by the age of 23. Women in this cohort with CT4, defined as a high-diversity, low Lactobacillus community, acquired HIV four times as often as those with CT1, defined as a Lactobacillus crispatus dominant community (Gosmann et. al 2017). Gosmann et. al (2017) hypothesize that this four-fold increase in HIV acquisition in women with CT4 has to do with elevated numbers of activated genital CD4+ T cells (HIV-target cells). This makes sense, since a greater number of HIV-target cells at the site of infection in women would mean that the HIV virus is more likely to “find” a host cell to infect. Therefore, future HIV prevention techniques in women can target the vaginal microbiome—shifting CT4 communities to CT1 communities could perhaps lower a woman’s’ likelihood of acquiring HIV upon exposure.
By: Lourdes Kaufman
Gosmann, Christina, et al. “Lactobacillus-Deficient Cervicovaginal Bacterial Communities Are Associated with Increased HIV Acquisition in Young South African Women.” Immunity, vol. 46, no. 1, 2017, pp. 29–37.