The barrier functions of crude cervical mucus plugs against HIV-1 infection in the context of cell-free and cell-to-cell transmission.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The cervical mucus plugs are enriched with proteins of known immunological functions. We aimed to characterize the anti-HIV-1 activity of the cervical mucus plugs against a panel of different HIV-1 strains in the contexts of cell-free and cell-associated virus.

Design

A cohort of consenting HIV-1-negative and HIV-1-positive pregnant women in labour was recruited from Mthatha General Hospital in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, from whom the cervical mucus plugs were collected in 6 M guanidinium chloride with protease inhibitors and transported to our laboratories at -80 °C.

Methods

Samples were centrifuged to remove insoluble material and dialysed before freeze--drying and subjecting them to the cell viability assays. The antiviral activities of th

SUBMITTER: Mhlekude B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8505157 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature