Estrogen protects against vaginal transmission of simian immunodeficiency virus.
Int Conf AIDS 2000 Jul 9-14; 13:(abstract no. MoOrA227)
Marx P, Smith S, Baskin G P. Marx, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Tulane Regional Primate Research Center, 18703 Three Rivers Road, Covington, LA 70433, United States, Tel.: +1 504 871 6255, Fax: +1 504 871 6248, E-mail: pmarx@adarc.org
Intravaginal inoculation of rhesus macaques with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) provides a model to study hormonal factors that may affect human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaginal transmission. To understand the individual roles of the major sex hormones in vaginal transmission, ovariectomized female macaques were treated with progesterone, estrogen, or untreated. Subsequently, each animal was intravaginally inoculated with pathogenic SIVmac. 100% of the untreated (6/6) animals and 83% of the progesterone treated (5/6) animals became infected. Conversely, none (0%) of the estrogen treated (0/6) animals were infected. The vaginal epithelia in the untreated and progesterone treated macaques were atrophied. On the other hand, the vaginal epithelia in the estrogen treated animals were hypertrophied. Three from the estrogen-treated group were re-challenged by the sub-vaginal epithelial route and three by the intravenous route. All six were infected and the virus loads were equivalent to the other groups showing that the in vivo effect of estrogen on SIV transmission was limited to a barrier effect. These results suggest that women, who are estrogen deficient and have atrophic vaginitis, may be at increased risk of HIV vaginal transmission and that estrogen therapy may reduce their risk.
Keywords: AEGIS, SIV, Vagina, Estrogens, Macaca mulatta, HIV, Progesterone, Naphthalenes, HIV Infections, HIV Envelope Protein gp120, HIV Envelope Protein gp41, HIV Antibodies, protect, Human, Female, Animal, transmission, immunology 000709
MoOrA227
