AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, September 21, 1998
Daniel J. DeNoon, Senior Editor
The in vitro findings suggest that HIV can't penetrate normal mucosal epithelial barriers. They focus attention on factors - such as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) - that may help the virus enter the body.
"These findings lead us to a clearer understanding of factors influencing the sexual transmission of HIV," said Charlene Dezzutti of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia. "This is the first study to demonstrate that normally functioning epithelial cells are incapable of transmitting HIV. But STDs and other factors which damage these cells can play a major role in this sexual spread of this epidemic."
Dezzutti presented the findings at the 12th World AIDS Conference, held June 28-July 3, 1998, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Dezzutti and colleagues compared two types of cells for their ability to transcytose HIV: primary prostate epithelial cells (PrEC) and epithelial cervical carcinoma cells that had been infected with human papillomavirus (HPV).
The normal, primary prostate cells formed tight intercellular bonds that did not let HIV through. The immortalized cells, however, failed to form tight bonds and easily passed the virus.
"These data suggest that the in vivo mucosal epithelial barrier protects against HIV transmission and that factors such as STDs, affecting the integrity of transepithelial tight junctions may allow viral entry and thus have implications for sexual transmission," Dezzutti et al. wrote in their presentation abstract.
The data make a compelling argument for improved diagnosis and treatment of such diseases in areas with high HIV prevalence.
"This study adds to mounting evidence that STDs greatly increase the risk of acquiring HIV," commented Helene Gayle, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention. "HIV prevention strategies, particularly for women, must include efforts to prevent and treat other STDs."
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