ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the effects of HIV infection on the vaginal microbiota and associations with treatment and demographic factors. We thus compared vaginal microbiome samples from HIV-infected (HIV+) and HIV-uninfected (HIV-) women collected at two Chicago area hospitals. DESIGN: We studied vaginal microbiome samples from 178 women analyzed longitudinally (nâ=â324 samples) and collected extensive data on clinical status and demographic factors. METHODS: We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the bacterial lineages present, then UniFrac, Shannon diversity, and other measures to compare community structure with sample metadata. RESULTS: Differences in microbiota measures were modest in the comparison of HIV+ and HIV- samples, in contrast to several previous studies, consistent with effective antiretroviral therapy. Proportions of healthy Lactobacillus species were not higher in HIV- patients overall, but were significantly higher when analyzed within each hospital in isolation. Rates of bacterial vaginosis were higher among African-American women and HIV+ women. Bacterial vaginosis was associated with higher frequency of HIV+. Unexpectedly, African-American women were more likely to switch bacterial vaginosis status between sampling times; switching was not associated with HIV+ status. CONCLUSION: The influence of HIV infection on the vaginal microbiome was modest for this cohort of well suppressed urban American women, consistent with effective antiretroviral therapy. HIV+ was found to be associated with bacterial vaginosis. Although bacterial vaginosis has previously been associated with HIV transmission, most of the women studied here became HIV+ many years before our test for bacterial vaginosis, thus implicating additional mechanisms linking HIV infection and bacterial vaginosis.
Subject(s)
HIV Infections/complications , Microbiota , Vagina/microbiology , Vaginosis, Bacterial/epidemiology , Adult , Bacteria/classification , Bacteria/genetics , Bacteria/isolation & purification , Chicago , Cluster Analysis , DNA, Bacterial/chemistry , DNA, Bacterial/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal/chemistry , DNA, Ribosomal/genetics , Demography , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Middle Aged , Phylogeny , RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Young AdultABSTRACT
Antibody capacity to recognize infectious virus is a prerequisite of many antiviral functions. We determined the infectious virion capture index (IVCI) of different antibody specificities. Whereas broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), except for an MPER bNAb, selectively captured infectious virions, non-bNAbs and mucosal human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-positive IgG captured subsets of both infectious and noninfectious virions. Infectious virion capture was additive with a mixture of antibodies, providing proof of concept for vaccine-induced antibodies that together have improved capacity to recognize infectious virions.
