HIV-inducing factor in cervicovaginal secretions is associated with bacterial vaginosis in HIV-1-infected women

• Published in: Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) Vol. 39; no. 3; p. 340
• Main Authors: Cohn, Jonathan A, Hashemi, Farhad B, Camarca, Margaret, Kong, Fanhui, Xu, Jiahong, Beckner, Suzanne K, Kovacs, Andrea A, Reichelderfer, Patricia S, Spear, Gregory T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.07.2005
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Cervix Uteri - metabolism; Cervix Uteri - virology; Female; HIV Infections - complications; HIV Infections - transmission; HIV Infections - virology; HIV-1 - physiology; Hot Temperature; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Vagina - metabolism; Vagina - virology; Vaginosis, Bacterial - complications; Vaginosis, Bacterial - physiopathology; Virus Replication
• ISSN: 1525-4135
• DOI: 10.1097/01.qai.0000146599.47925.e0

Certain cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) fluid samples obtained from HIV-1-infected and uninfected women stimulate in vitro HIV-1 replication. This activity, HIV-inducing factor (HIF), changes when CVL fluid is heated. We sought to confirm a previous observation that HIF was associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV). HIF was measured in unheated and heated CVL fluid obtained from HIV-1-infected women and compared with the presence of BV by Nugent scores, other genital tract conditions, and cervicovaginal HIV-1 shedding. Among the 295 women studied, 54% of CVL samples had HIF activity and 21% showed heat-stable HIF activity. In adjusted logistic regression, heat-stable HIF was associated with BV (odds ratio [OR]=51.7, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.0, 530.7) and with intermediate flora (OR=43.3, 95% CI: 3.6, 521.1); heat-labile HIF was not associated with BV. Neither heat-stable nor heat-labile HIF was associated with other cervicovaginal conditions nor, after controlling for plasma viral load, with genital tract HIV-1 shedding. We confirmed the association of HIF with BV and attribute it to the heat-stable component. Heat-stable activity is also associated, although less strongly, with intermediate vaginal flora. We propose that heat-stable HIF is a result of products of BV-associated bacteria.