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Rupert Kaul, Sarah L. Rowland-Jones, Geraldine Gillespie, Joshua Kimani, Tao Dong, Peter Kiama, Neil Simonsen, Job J. Bwayo, Andrew J. McMichael, Francis A. Plummer, Gonococcal Cervicitis Is Associated with Reduced Systemic CD8+ T Cell Responses in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1—Infected and Exposed, Uninfected Sex Workers, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 185, Issue 10, 15 May 2002, Pages 1525–1529, https://doi.org/10.1086/340214
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Abstract
Neisseria gonorrhoeae cervicitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 frequently coinfect core transmitter populations, such as female sex workers. Gonococcal cervicitis is associated with increased viral shedding and plasma viremia in HIV-1-infected women and increased HIV-1 susceptibility in uninfected women. We studied the influence of gonococcal cervicitis on CD8+ interferon (IFN)-γ responses to HIV-1 and cytomegalovirus (CMV) epitopes in HIV-1-infected and in highly-exposed, persistently seronegative (HEPS) female sex workers. In HIV-1-infected women, gonococcal cervicitis was associated with reduced IFN-γ responses in bulk CD8+ lymphocyte populations, and intracellular cytokine staining, combined with class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-peptide tetramer studies, demonstrated reduced IFN-γ production by HIV-1 epitope-specific CD8+ lymphocytes. In HEPS sex workers, cervicitis was associated with the transient loss of systemic HIV-1-specific CD8+ responses and with reduced function of CMV-specific CD8+ lymphocytes. Impaired function of virus-specific CD8+ lymphocytes may partly explain the deleterious effects of gonococcal cervicitis on HIV-1 immune control and susceptibility.