Genital Tract Interleukin-8 but not Interleukin-1β or Interleukin-6 Concentration is Associated with Bacterial Vaginosis and Its Clearance in HIV-Infected and HIV-Uninfected Women

Abstract

Genital tract infections and cytokine perturbations are associated with increased HIV acquisition and transmission. We measured the relationship between bacterial vaginosis (BV) and concentrations of Interleukin-8 (IL-8), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) in cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) specimens collected longitudinally from 16 HIV-infected and 8 HIV-uninfected high-risk women. CVL samples were analyzed when women presented with BV, and at their next visit, after successful treatment, when BV was cleared. A subset of participants had cytokine levels evaluated at three consecutive clinic visits: before developing BV, at the time of BV diagnosis, and after clearing BV. Significantly higher IL-8, but not IL-1β or IL-6 levels were present when women had active BV compared to when BV was absent. Trends in cytokine levels were similar for HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women. BV in these women was associated with significantly higher concentrations of genital tract IL-8 which decreased 2.4 fold when BV was cleared.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2007 Phyllis Losikoff et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.