Influence of Hormonal Contraceptive Use and HIV on Cervicovaginal Cytokines and Microbiota in Malawi.

ABSTRACT: Important questions remain on how hormonal contraceptives alter the local immune environment and the microbiota in the female genital tract and how such effects may impact susceptibility to HIV infection. We leveraged samples from a previously conducted clinical trial of Malawian women with (n = 73) and without (n = 24) HIV infection randomized to depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) or the levonogestrel implant in equal numbers within each group and determined the effects of these hormonal contraceptives (HCs) on the vaginal immune milieu and the composition of the vaginal microbiota. Longitudinal data for soluble immune mediators, measured by multiplex bead arrays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), and vaginal microbiota, assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon

SUBMITTER: Haddad LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9942570 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature