Increased levels of immune activation in the genital tract of healthy young women from sub-Saharan Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To determine whether healthy, young women in sub-Saharan Africa have a more activated immune milieu in the genital tract (i.e. activated CD4 T cells) than a similar population in the United States.

Design

A cross-sectional study nested in a phase 1 microbicide trial.

Methods

Cervical cytobrushes were collected from 18 to 24-year-old women in San Francisco, California, USA (n = 18) and Kisumu, Kenya (n = 36) at enrollment into a phase 1 microbicide trial. All participants tested negative for HIV, herpes simplex virus 2, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomonas, and had abstained from sex for at least 7 days prior to enrollment. Cryopreserved T-cell populations were assayed by flow cytometry in a central laboratory. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor levels

SUBMITTER: Cohen CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2914808 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature