Project description:Elevated inflammation in the female genital tract is associated with increased HIV risk. Cervicovaginal bacteria modulate genital inflammation; however, their role in HIV susceptibility has not been elucidated. In a prospective cohort of young, healthy South African women, we found that individuals with diverse genital bacterial communities dominated by anaerobes other than Gardnerella were at over 4-fold higher risk of acquiring HIV and had increased numbers of activated mucosal CD4+ T cells compared to those with Lactobacillus crispatus-dominant communities. We identified specific bacterial taxa linked with reduced (L. crispatus) or elevated (Prevotella, Sneathia, and other anaerobes) inflammation and HIV infection and found that high-risk bacteria increased numbers of activated genital CD4+ T cells in a murine model. Our results suggest that highly prevalent genital bacteria increase HIV risk by inducing mucosal HIV target cells. These findings might be leveraged to reduce HIV acquisition in women living in sub-Saharan Africa.
Project description:We performed gene expression analysis using the SCRB-Seq method from cervical and peripheral blood antigen presenting cells that were collected from women with different cervicovaginal bacterial community types.
Project description:Schistosomiasis increases the risk of HIV acquisition in women, by mechanisms that are incompletely defined. Our objective was to determine how the cervical environment is impacted by Schistosoma haematobium or S. mansoni infection using mucosal gene expression and cervicovaginal lavage cytokine levels. We recruited women with/without S. haematobium and with/without S. mansoni infections from separate villages in rural Tanzania, as determined by urine and stool microscopy and serum circulating anodic antigen. RNA was extracted from cervical cytobrush samples for transcriptome analysis. Cytokine levels were measured by magnetic bead immunoassay. In the S. haematobium village, 110 genes were differentially expressed in the cervical mucosa of women with (n=18) versus without (n=39) S. haematobium. Among the 27 cytokines analyzed in cervicovaginal lavage fluids, interleukin 15 (IL-15) was lower in women with S. haematobium (62.8 versus 102.9 pg/mL, adjusted p=0.0013). Differences were not observed in the S. mansoni setting between women with (n=11) or without (n=29) S. mansoni. We demonstrate altered cervical mucosal gene expression and lower IL-15 levels in women with S. haematobium but not S. mansoni, which may impact HIV acquisition and cancer risks. Studies to determine effects of anti-schistosome treatment on these mucosal alterations are needed.
Project description:Preterm birth (PTB) is one of major causes of perinatal mortality and neonatal morbidity, but knowledge of its complex etiology is still limited. Here we present cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) protein profiles of pregnant women who subsequently delivered at spontaneous preterm or term, aiming to identify differentially expressed CVF proteins in PTB and term birth. The CVF proteome of women who sequentially delivered at preterm and term was analyzed using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) coupled with two-dimensional nanoflow liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (2D-nLC-MS/MS). We compared the CVF proteome of PTB (n=5) and control subjects (term birth, n=7) using pooled control CVF (term birth, n=20) as spike-in standard. We identified 1294 CVF proteins, of which 605 were newly identified proteins. Of 990 proteins quantified in both PTB and term birth, 52 proteins were significantly up/down-regulated in PTB compared to term birth. The differentially expressed proteins were functionally associated to immune response, endopeptidase inhibitors and structural constituent of cytoskeleton. Taken together, our study provide quantitative CVF proteome profiles of pregnant women who ultimately delivered at preterm and term. These promising results could help to improve the understanding of PTB etiology and to discover biomarkers for asymptomatic PTB.
Project description:Women of sub-Saharan African descent have disproportionately higher incidence of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), and TNBC-specific mortality. Population comparative studies show racial differences in TNBC biology, including higher prevalence of basal-like and Quadruple-Negative subtypes in African Americans (AA). However, previous investigations relied on self-reported race (SRR) of primarily United States (US) populations. Due to heterogenous genetic admixture, and biological consequences of social determinants, the true association of African ancestry with TNBC biology is unclear. To address this, we conducted RNAseq on an international cohort of AAs, west and east Africans with TNBC. Using comprehensive genetic ancestry estimation in this African-enriched cohort, we found expression of 613 genes associated with African ancestry and 2000+ associated with regional African ancestry. A subset of African-associated genes also showed differences in normal breast tissue. Pathway enrichment and deconvolution of tumor cellular composition revealed tumor-associated immunological profiles are distinct in patients of African descent.
Project description:Cervicovaginal microbiome dysbiosis is associated with increased prevalence and incidence of sexually transmitted infections including HIV. We compared the cervicovaginal proteome as characterised by mass-spectrometry of four groups of African female sex workers (total N=50) grouped by microbiome composition as characterised by 16S rDNA microarray. Group 1 had a Lactobacillus crispatus-dominated microbiome, group 2 a L. iners-dominated microbiome, and groups 3 and 4 had a microbiome containing multiple genera of anaerobic bacteria, with group 3 representing transition to or from dysbiosis and group 4 full dysbiosis. 82 human proteins were differentially abundant among the groups, either showing an increasing or decreasing trend from microbiome groups 1 to 4. Proteins that increased included proteasome subunits and other proteins involved in catabolic metabolism, actin organising proteins and proteins involved in the immune response. Proteins that decreased included antiproteases, keratins, and cornified envelope proteins. We also compared the abundance of pre-defined proteins of interest among microbiome groups: markers of cell type, inflammation, and cell death, and mucins. The dysbiotic groups had increased abundance of proteins unique to lymphocytes and macrophages, pro-inflammatory cytokines, cell death markers, and MUC5B. We conclude that the cervicovaginal human proteome is associated with the cervicovaginal microbiome in a dose-response manner. The changes are likely caused by a pro-inflammatory influx of immune cells and an increase of cell death in dysbiosis. Dysbiosis-associated immune activation, breaches in epithelial integrity, altered mucin balance, and altered protease-antiprotease balance may all contribute to the increased risk of HIV transmission when cervicovaginal dysbiosis is present.
Project description:In the United States, African-American (AA) women are more likely to develop early-onset breast cancer and have historically poorer outcomes due to this disease compared to European-American (EA) women. Here, we analyzed genomic profiles of breast tumors from young women (<50 years old), matched by tumor subtype, histological grade, and ethnicity (African-American, AA, compared to European-American, EA). DNA copy number alterations (CNAs) were analyzed on the Affymetrix Human SNP Array v 6.0 platform. The study provides insight into the genetic component of ethnicity-related breast cancer health disparities.
Project description:In the United States, African-American (AA) women are more likely to develop early-onset breast cancer and have historically poorer outcomes due to this disease compared to European-American (EA) women. Here, we analyzed genomic profiles of breast tumors from young women (<50 years old), matched by tumor subtype, histological grade, and ethnicity (African-American, AA, compared to European-American, EA). DNA copy number alterations (CNAs) were analyzed using a 32K BAC tiling path array. The study provides insight into the genetic component of ethnicity-related breast cancer health disparities.