Relationship between HIV viral load and Langerhans cells of the cervical epithelium.

AIM: To determine the relationship between the density of cervical mucosa Langerhans cells, cervical histology, and HIV viral load. METHODS: Eighty-four HIV-infected and 17 women at high risk for HIV had cervical biopsies assessed for squamous intraepithelial lesions and Langerhans cell density. Langerhans cells were identified using the S-100 immunohistochemical stain and were counted manually. Polymerase chain reaction assays were used to detect cervical human papillomavirus (HPV)-DNA. T-cell subsets were determined using immunofluorescent flow cytometry. Plasma HIV RNA levels were measured using a nucleic acid sequence-based amplification technique. The associations between cervical Langerhans cell density, cervical histology, CD4 counts, HIV viral loads, HPV-DNA detection, and smoking status were assessed using multivariate statistical models. RESULTS: In multivariate analysis among women infected with HIV, the mean Langerhans cell density per high-powered field was 4.00 among women with no detectable plasma HIV-RNA, and 1.92 among those with detectable HIV-RNA (P = 0.01). The mean cervical Langerhans cell density was increased in women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions compared with those with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and normal/metaplastic histology (3.87 vs 2.11; P = 0.05). Neither HPV-DNA detection, smoking status, nor CD4 count was significantly associated with Langerhans cell density. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in cervical Langerhans cell density in women with detectable HIV-RNA suggests an impaired mucosal immune response to local infections, such as HPV. Conversely, HPV infection resulting in high-grade dysplasia might be associated with an enhanced local immune response.

Histologic and colposcopic correlates of ASCUS pap smears in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: A historic cohort analysis was performed to assess the colposcopic and histologic correlates of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) Pap smears in pregnant and nonpregnant women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A chart review of all gynecologic and obstetric patients seen in the outpatient clinic at the Maimonides Medical Center between January 1996 and December 1999 was undertaken. All of the charts of patients with ASCUS Pap smears were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis and to obtain medical and demographic information. To be eligible for inclusion, patients needed to have a documented colposcopic exam within 6 months of the ASCUS Pap smear and be between the ages of 14 and 45 years old. The records from the colposcopic examination including histologic data were subsequently reviewed. The generalized Fisher exact test was utilized to determine the exact probability. RESULTS: Over a 4-year period from January of 1996 to December of 1999, 198 women were diagnosed with ASCUS on their Pap smears. A total of 122 patients met the inclusion criteria. Of those included in the study, 58 were pregnant at the time of diagnosis and 64 were nonpregnant. The mean age of the obstetric and gynecologic patients was 26.9 (range = 18-37) and 31.0 (range = 18-44) years, respectively (p = NS). Thirty-two (50%) nonpregnant patients had histologic findings of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) compared with 15 of the 45 (33.3%) (p = .019) obstetric patients who had biopsies within the first 6 months postpartum. CIN 1 was detected in 12 of the 45 (26.7%) biopsies of the postpartum patients and 26 of the 64 (40.6%) (p = .16) gynecologic patients. CIN 2,3 was found in 2 of the 45 (4.4%) postpartum patients versus 6 of the 64 (9.4%) (p = .12) gynecologic patients. One pregnant woman with ASCUS was found to have cervical cancer (2.2%). Overall, a biopsy proven neoplastic lesion was found in 15 of 45 (33.3%) postpartum women compared with 32 of the 64 (50%) (p = .019) nonpregnant women. CONCLUSION: A cytologic diagnosis of ASCUS in pregnancy is associated with a significantly lower rate of neoplasia than the rate of neoplasia found among nonpregnant women with an ASCUS smear. A risk of cervical cancer following an ASCUS Pap smear was 2.2% in our pregnant population. Therefore, ASCUS diagnosed on the Pap smear in both pregnant and nonpregnant women warrants colposcopy and close follow-up.