Infection of female primary lower genital tract epithelial cells after natural pseudotyping of HIV-1: possible implications for sexual transmission of HIV-1.

ABSTRACT: The global AIDS pandemic continues to expand and in some regions of the world, such as southern Africa, the prevalence of HIV-1 infection exceeds 20%. The devastating spread of the virus in young women in these countries appears disproportional to overall risk of infection. Regions with high prevalence of HIV-1 are often also highly endemic for other pathogenic viruses including HSV, CMV and HTLV. We propose that acquisition by HIV-1 of the envelope glycoproteins of other viruses, in a process we call "natural pseudotyping," expands the cellular tropism of HIV-1, enabling it to infect female genital epithelial cells directly and thereby dramatically increasing risk of infection during sexual intercourse. In this proof-of-concept study, we demonstrate that when HIV-1 co-infects T cells alon

SUBMITTER: Tang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4092063 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature