Project description:Intravaginal HIV microbicides could provide women with a self-controlled means for HIV prevention, but results from clinical trials have been largely disappointing. We postulated that unrecognized effects of intravaginal gels on the upper female reproductive tract (FRT) might contribute to the lower-than-expected efficacy of HIV microbicides. In this observational crossover study, 28 healthy female volunteers used no product (control cycle) or used a nightly application of intravaginal nonoxynol-9 gel [N9] as a 'failed' microbicide or the universal placebo gel [UPG] as a 'safe' gel, from the end of menses to the mid-luteal phase (intervention cycles). They then underwent sample collection for measurements of T-cell phenotypes, transcriptional profiling, and protein levels from 3 anatomic sites above the vagina: the cervical transformation zone, the endocervix and the endometrium. We used hierarchical statistical models to estimate mean (95% CI) intervention:control fold-changes in relevant phenotype levels. Exposure to N9 and UPG generated a common 'harm signature' that included transcriptional up-regulation of inflammatory genes CCL20 and IL8 in the cervix, decreased protein concentrations of secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor and increased percentages of terminally differentiated CD4+ effector T-cells in the endocervix, and transcriptional up-regulation of inflammatory mediators KIR3DS1, glycodelin-A, and osteopontin in the endometrium. These results underscore the need to consider the effects of microbicide agents and gel excipients on the upper FRT in studies of vaginal microbicides. Given the pro-inflammatory effects of UPG on the upper FRT, it may not be a suitable placebo for microbicide trials. Upper tract effects of intravaginal gels in women. This is a cross sectional study involving control samples versus treatment for two tissue types.
Project description:The female reproductive tract is one of the major mucosal invasion site of HIV-1. This site has been neglected in previous HIV-1 vaccine studies. Immune responses in the female reproductive tract after systemic vaccination remain to be characterized. Using a modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) as a vaccine model, we characterized specific immune responses in all compartments of the female reproductive tract (FRT) of non-human primates after systemic vaccination. Memory T cells were preferentially found in the lower tract (vagina and cervix), whereas antigen-presenting cells and innate lymphoid cells were mainly located in the upper tract (uterus and fallopian tubes). This compartmentalisation of immune cells in the FRT was supported by transcriptomic analyses and correlation network. Polyfunctional MVA-specific CD8+ T cells were detected in the blood, lymph nodes, vagina, cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes. Anti-MVA IgG and IgA were detected in cervicovaginal fluid after a second vaccine dose. Systemic vaccination with an MVA vector thus elicits cellular and antibody responses in the female reproductive tract.
Project description:In order to better understand the female reproductive tract (FRT) we conducted a systematic, comprehensive investigation of the FRT in a tssue-specific manner at three time points relative to mating. By characterizing the transcriptional relationships among discrete FRT tissues across time we advance the understanding of the molecular genetics of FRT functions.
Project description:Fertility depends on the coordination of complex interactions between male and female reproductive proteins inside the female reproductive tract (FRT). These interactions mediate a suite of changes in female behavior, morphology, and physiology after mating, yet little is known about how the molecular environment of the FRT may differ among species and coordinate species-specific female post-mating responses. We used semi-quantitative proteomics to compare the FRT protein composition between virgin and mated females in Drosophila melanogaster. These results are compared to those from quantitative TMT proteomic analyses of the mating-induced changes in D. simulans and D. mauritiana, and after conspecific and heterospecific inseminations. Our study highlights the value of using quantitative proteomics approaches to study the molecular composition of the FRT environment, and how its divergence may inform mechanistic studies of post-mating pre-zygotic reproductive isolation between species.
Project description:Intravaginal HIV microbicides could provide women with a self-controlled means for HIV prevention, but results from clinical trials have been largely disappointing. We postulated that unrecognized effects of intravaginal gels on the upper female reproductive tract (FRT) might contribute to the lower-than-expected efficacy of HIV microbicides. In this observational crossover study, 28 healthy female volunteers used no product (control cycle) or used a nightly application of intravaginal nonoxynol-9 gel [N9] as a 'failed' microbicide or the universal placebo gel [UPG] as a 'safe' gel, from the end of menses to the mid-luteal phase (intervention cycles). They then underwent sample collection for measurements of T-cell phenotypes, transcriptional profiling, and protein levels from 3 anatomic sites above the vagina: the cervical transformation zone, the endocervix and the endometrium. We used hierarchical statistical models to estimate mean (95% CI) intervention:control fold-changes in relevant phenotype levels. Exposure to N9 and UPG generated a common 'harm signature' that included transcriptional up-regulation of inflammatory genes CCL20 and IL8 in the cervix, decreased protein concentrations of secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor and increased percentages of terminally differentiated CD4+ effector T-cells in the endocervix, and transcriptional up-regulation of inflammatory mediators KIR3DS1, glycodelin-A, and osteopontin in the endometrium. These results underscore the need to consider the effects of microbicide agents and gel excipients on the upper FRT in studies of vaginal microbicides. Given the pro-inflammatory effects of UPG on the upper FRT, it may not be a suitable placebo for microbicide trials.