The goal of the Tissue Culture and Virology Laboratory Core is to provide experimental and reagent support for the four Projects focusing on HIV-1 pathogenesis in the female genital tract and for pilot projects awarded by the Administrative Core. There are three specific aims to address this goal: 1) to perform experiments using a cervical tissue explant model;2) to produce HIV-1-related molecular and virological reagents and perform standardized virological assays;and 3) to manage and maintain a respository containing blood and cervicovaginal lavages specimens from HIV-1 exposed or infected women. Dr. Nell Lurain will serve as the Director of the Core to oversee all activities and to communicate results to the Project Investigators. Dr. James Bremer will serve as a co-investigator to facilitate the use of the specimen repository. Drs. Lurain and Bremer have collaborated with all of the Program Investigators for over five years on other projects and will meet monthly with them to ensure that the Core program fulfills their requirements in a timely manner. In particular, the Core offers a unique expertise in the design and performance of experiments using the cervical explant model, which is highly relevant to HIV-1 disease in the female genital tract. This model will be used to measure inhibition of HIV-1 by cervical secretions from women exposed to HIV-1 who fail to become HIV-1 seropositive (Project III)or from women who have changes in the bacterial flora of the genital tract (Project II). The model will be used to study hormonal effects on HIV-1 infection (Project IV), and the model will be used to study the effects of HIV-1 co-infection with other viruses such as human cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex type-2 (Project I). The strong working relationship that has already been established between the Core Director and the Project Investigators will allow the maximum efficiency in utilizing this important model. The Core staff has molecular and virological expertise, which will provide specific reagents needed by the Projects. The knowledge and proficiency of the Core staff will provide reliable results in support of each Project, leading to a better understanding of the mechanisms of HIV-1 transmission and development of new interventions to prevent HIV-1 infection.

Public Health Relevance

The purpose of Core C is to provide assays and reagents required by the four projects, which all focus on different aspects of HIV-1 infection of the female genital tract. In particular, the Core can perform experiments in cervical tissue, which is a relevant human tissue for testing conditions that affect HIV-1 replication.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Program Projects (P01)
Project #
5P01AI082971-05
Application #
8528319
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAI1-TP-A)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2013-09-01
Budget End
2014-08-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$155,386
Indirect Cost
$28,591
Name
Rush University Medical Center
Department
Type
DUNS #
068610245
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60612
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Chehoud, Christel; Stieh, Daniel J; Bailey, Aubrey G et al. (2017) Associations of the vaginal microbiota with HIV infection, bacterial vaginosis, and demographic factors. AIDS 31:895-904
Gianella, Sara; Chaillon, Antoine; Mutlu, Ece A et al. (2017) Effect of cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus replication on intestinal mucosal gene expression and microbiome composition of HIV-infected and uninfected individuals. AIDS 31:2059-2067
Gianella, Sara; Chaillon, Antoine; Mutlu, Ece A et al. (2017) Effect of CMV and EBV replication on intestinal mucosal gene expression and microbiome composition of HIV-infected and uninfected individuals. AIDS :
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Spear, Greg T; McKenna, Mary; Landay, Alan L et al. (2015) Effect of pH on Cleavage of Glycogen by Vaginal Enzymes. PLoS One 10:e0132646
Mirmonsef, Paria; Modur, Sharada; Burgad, Derick et al. (2015) Exploratory comparison of vaginal glycogen and Lactobacillus levels in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Menopause 22:702-9
Arslan, Sevim Yildiz; Yu, Yanni; Burdette, Joanne E et al. (2015) Novel three dimensional human endocervix cultures respond to 28-day hormone treatment. Endocrinology 156:1602-9
Tjernlund, Annelie; Carias, Ann M; Andersson, Sonia et al. (2015) Progesterone-based intrauterine device use is associated with a thinner apical layer of the human ectocervical epithelium and a lower ZO-1 mRNA expression. Biol Reprod 92:68

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