HIV-1 infection associated with abnormal vaginal flora morphology and bacterial vaginosis

Dendritic cell activation and maturation induced by mucosal fluid from women with bacterial vaginosis

“…In turn, the susceptibility of individuals to other infections may be altered. For example, epidemiological studies suggest that BV increases susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in women [13,18,58,59]. Increased susceptibility due to BV may occur through few mechanisms.…”

“…Episodes of BV commonly span several days to weeks [10] and the incidence of BV ranges from 5-30% in women of child bearing age in North America to over 50% in some populations [11][12][13]. BV has several severe consequences including increasing the risk of preterm birth, miscarriage and pelvic inflammatory disease [14][15][16].…”

“…BV has several severe consequences including increasing the risk of preterm birth, miscarriage and pelvic inflammatory disease [14][15][16]. BV also increases the risk of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and herpes simplex virus type 2 [13,17,18].…”

A randomized trial of metronidazole in asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis to prevent the acquisition of sexually transmitted diseases

“…It is hypothesized that the lack of hydrogen-peroxide producing lactobacilli in the vaginal flora of women with BV is the major biological risk for STD acquisition although other factors such as elevated vaginal pH and local cytokine production which accompany BV may be operative as well 5, 6, 12-14 . Crosssectional studies have documented a significant association between BV and HIV seropositivity [15][16][17] . Prospective studies have shown that HIV seroconversion is significantly associated with alterations in vaginal flora 18 .…”

In Vivo Identification of Langerhans and Related Dendritic Cells Infected with HIV-1 Subtype E in Vaginal Mucosa of Asymptomatic Patients

“…One possible explanation is that inflammation predisposes the vaginal mucosa to be an efficient host for infection with the virus. It has been documented that a history of sexually transmitted diseases, both ulcerating and nonulcerating, as well as abnormal vaginal flora and bacterial vaginosis, have been associated with increased risk of HIV infection (17)(18)(19)(20)(21). In our study, four out of six seropositive cases reported a history of a sexually transmitted disease, although no pathogens could be identified at the time of biopsy in cervicovaginal lavage samples.…”