Almost 60% of the 40 million HIV-1 infected individuals worldwide are women, and most new HIV-1 infections are contracted by heterosexual contact. Mucosal HIV transmission is therefore the most important target for preventative strategies. To design vaccines or topical microbicides that interfere with viral transmission, it is critical to have an in-depth understanding of the initial infection events in the mucosa. However, the exact pathways whereby HIV enters and propagates in the mucosa remain ill defined. In particular, data are lacking that clarify how HIV interacts with Langerhans and CD4+ T cells that reside in the outer epithelial layer of the human vagina or ectocervix. These cells are presumably the first susceptible targets for HIV, and a successful blockade of their infection could be extremely effective in aborting viral transmission. To address these issues, we developed a novel ex vivo organ culture model of the human vaginal mucosa. This model allows us to perform detailed in situ investigations of the productive and non- productive pathways for entry of HIV into intraepithelial Langerhans and T cells.
In Aim 1, we will use our model to characterize the initial HIV-1 infection steps in these cells. We will also test variations of our model that may allow for higher throughput studies as required for preclinical microbicide evaluation.
In Aim 2, we will determine if infection of intraepithelial Langerhans and T cells constitutes a bottleneck favoring R5- over X4-tropic HIV-1 strains, therefore contributing to the predominance of R5 viruses during primary HIV infection. These studies will yield important information that will allow us to better understand mucosal HIV-1 transmission and selection, and will thus be useful for vaccine and microbicide design. Lay abstract: Worldwide, most HIV infections occur through the linings of the genital or intestinal tract following sexual contact. Information about the initial infection events at these sites is therefore needed to help in devising medical strategies for prevention, such as vaccines or locally delivered antiviral drugs. In this proposal, we will use a novel organ culture model of human vaginal tissue obtained from surgeries to characterize the entry pathways of HIV during the earliest stages of sexual transmission. ? ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
7R01HD051455-03
Application #
7487528
Study Section
AIDS Immunology and Pathogenesis Study Section (AIP)
Program Officer
Ryan, Kevin W
Project Start
2006-09-29
Project End
2010-08-31
Budget Start
2008-09-01
Budget End
2010-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$402,075
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Washington
Department
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
605799469
City
Seattle
State
WA
Country
United States
Zip Code
98195
Hladik, Florian; Burgener, Adam; Ballweber, Lamar et al. (2015) Mucosal effects of tenofovir 1% gel. Elife 4:
Vojtech, Lucia; Woo, Sangsoon; Hughes, Sean et al. (2014) Exosomes in human semen carry a distinctive repertoire of small non-coding RNAs with potential regulatory functions. Nucleic Acids Res 42:7290-304
McElrath, M J; Smythe, K; Randolph-Habecker, J et al. (2013) Comprehensive assessment of HIV target cells in the distal human gut suggests increasing HIV susceptibility toward the anus. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 63:263-71
Doehle, Brian P; Chang, Kristina; Fleming, Lamar et al. (2012) Vpu-deficient HIV strains stimulate innate immune signaling responses in target cells. J Virol 86:8499-506
Ballweber, Lamar; Robinson, Barry; Kreger, Allison et al. (2011) Vaginal langerhans cells nonproductively transporting HIV-1 mediate infection of T cells. J Virol 85:13443-7
Hladik, Florian; Doncel, Gustavo F (2010) Preventing mucosal HIV transmission with topical microbicides: challenges and opportunities. Antiviral Res 88 Suppl 1:S3-9
McElrath, M Juliana; Ballweber, Lamar; Terker, Andrew et al. (2010) Ex vivo comparison of microbicide efficacies for preventing HIV-1 genomic integration in intraepithelial vaginal cells. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 54:763-72
Zhu, Jia; Hladik, Florian; Woodward, Amanda et al. (2009) Persistence of HIV-1 receptor-positive cells after HSV-2 reactivation is a potential mechanism for increased HIV-1 acquisition. Nat Med 15:886-92
Doehle, Brian P; Hladik, Florian; McNevin, John P et al. (2009) Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 mediates global disruption of innate antiviral signaling and immune defenses within infected cells. J Virol 83:10395-405
Nittayananta, Wipawee; Hladik, Florian; Klausner, Mitchell et al. (2009) HIV type 1 fails to trigger innate immune factor synthesis in differentiated oral epithelium. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 25:1013-21

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