HIV and HPV Transmission Across Mucosal Epithelia

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Investigator: Sharof Tugizov, PhD
Sponsor: California HIV/AIDS Research Program

Location(s): United States

Description

Incidence of HPV-associated lesions is higher in HIV-infected than in HIV-uninfected individuals. Oral and anogenital mucosal epithelia of HIV/AIDS-positive individuals contain infiltrating HIV-infected immune cells that express viral tat and gp120, and proinflammatory cytokines TNF-a and IFN-g. These proteins may disrupt tight junctions (TJ) of mucosal epithelium, facilitating HPV penetration. Our aims were to investigate how HIV-associated
disruption of mucosal epithelium promotes HPV infection.