Innate immunity in HIV-1 infection: epithelial and non-specific host factors of mucosal immunity- a workshop report

Overview and research agenda arising from the 7th World Workshop on Oral Health and Disease in AIDS

The Research Agenda generated by the 7th World Workshop on Oral Health and Disease in AIDS (WW7) is delivered in this paper. Panels of international experts presided over nine workshops that constituted the conference held in November 2014 in Hyderabad, India. The main goal of the Workshop was to bring together clinician and scientists interested in the subject to debate with world-wide perspectives current issues related to the oral manifestations in HIV/AIDS. The workshops were structured around three themes; basic science, clinical/translational science and social science and were attended by 135 participants from 31 countries. The research questions debated at the workshops are presented in nine consensus papers published in this issue and are summarised in this paper along with an outline of the identified research needs in the field.

"Fusion and binding inhibition" key target for HIV-1 treatment and pre-exposure prophylaxis: targets, drug delivery and nanotechnology approaches

More than 35 million people are living with HIV worldwide with approximately 2.3 million new infections per year. Cascade of events (cell entry, virus replication, assembly and release of newly formed virions) is involved in the HIV-1 transmission process. Every single step offers a potential therapeutic strategy to halt this progression and HIV fusion into the human host cell is one such stage. Controlling the initial event of HIV-1 transmission is the best way to control its dissemination especially when prophylaxis is concerned. Action is required either on the HIV’s or host’s cell surface which is logically more rational when compared with other intracellular acting moieties. Aim of this manuscript is to detail the significance and current strategies to halt this initial step, thus blocking the entry of HIV-1 for further infection. Both HIV-1 and the possible host cell’s receptors/co-receptors are under focus while specifying the targets available for inhibiting this fusion. Current and under investigation moieties are categorized based on their versatile mechanisms. Advanced drug delivery and nanotechnology approaches present a key tool to exploit the therapeutic potential in a boosted way. Current drug delivery and the impact of nanotechnology in potentiating this strategy are detailed.

Testosterone and immune-reproductive tradeoffs in healthy women

Although testosterone (T) has been characterized as universally immunosuppressive across species and sexes, recent ecoimmunology research suggests that T's immunomodulatory effects (enhancing/suppressing) depend on the organism's reproductive context. Very little is known about the immune effects of T in healthy females, and even less about how reproductive effort modulates the immune effects of T in humans. We investigated how the interaction between endogenous T and sexual activity predicted menstrual cycle-related changes in several measures of immunity: inflammation (indexed by interleukin-6, IL-6), adaptive immunity (indexed by immunoglobulin A, IgA), and functional immunity (indexed by bactericidal assay). Thirty-two healthy women (sexually abstinent, N=17; sexually active with one male partner, N=15) provided saliva samples at four points in the menstrual cycle: menses, follicular, ovulation, and luteal phases. Among sexually abstinent women, T was positively associated with IL-6 across the cycle; for sexually active women, however, T was positively associated with IL-6 in the luteal phase only, and negatively associated with IL-6 at ovulation. High T predicted higher IgA among women who reported infrequent intercourse, but lower IgA among women who reported very frequent intercourse. Finally, across groups, T was positively associated with greater bacterial killing at menses, but negatively associated in the luteal phase. Overall, rather than being universally immunosuppressive, T appeared to signal immunomodulation relevant to reproduction (e.g., lowering inflammation at ovulation, potentially preventing immune interference with conception). Our findings support the hypothesis that the immunomodulatory effects of endogenous T in healthy females depend on sexual and reproductive context.

Infection Transmission by Saliva and the Paradoxical Protective Role of Saliva

Saliva is produced by both major (parotid and submandibular and sublingual) and minor (located in the mouth) glands, with different constituents and properties between the two groups. In the mouth saliva is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, watery liquid containing 99% water and 1% organic and inorganic substances and dissolved gases, mainly oxygen and carbon dioxide. Salivary constituents can be grouped into proteins (e.g., amylase and lysozyme), organic molecules (e.g., urea, lipids, and glucose mainly), and electrolytes (e.g., sodium, calcium, chlorine, and phosphates). Cellular elements such as epithelial cells, leukocytes and various hormones, and vitamins have also been detected. The composition of saliva is modified, depending on factors such as secreted amount, circadian rhythm, duration and nature of stimuli, diet, and medication intake, among others.

Potential gingival crevicular fluid and serum biomarkers by stage of HIV infection

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluates the potential of gingival crevicular fluid and serum cytokines as HIV stage biomarkers.

METHODS

Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and serum samples from 78 HIV-positive adult male subjects (cases) and 39 HIV-negative male subjects (controls) from Mexico were examined for 17 cytokines using multiplex ELISA. Participants were divided into five subgroups by HIV stage of infection on age-specific CD4+ T-lymphocyte count and antiretroviral therapy (ART), and further correlated to the cytokine levels.

RESULTS

GCF concentrations of IL-6, IL-7, IL-10, IL-12, G-CSF and MCP-1, as well as serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-2 and IL-6 showed a statistically significant difference among subgroups. We found a significant effect size correlation on cytokines expression levels. Subjects who were not in ART showed significantly higher levels of some of the analyzed cytokines compared to the rest. We found that GCF IL-8 was a significant predictor for the Non-ART HIV status (p<0.05). We observed the same result for GCF G-CSF in the ART Short-term group and serum GM-CSF in the ART Long-term subgroup.

CONCLUSION

Results indicate a high variability of GCF and serum cytokines concentrations and low frequency of their detection in different HIV/ART stages. However, within the limits of the present study, some GCF and serum cytokine concentrations correlate positively. Oral and periodontal innate immunity is affected by HIV viremia and ART. GCF IL-8, G-CSF, as well as serum IL-8, MCP-1 and GM-CSF may be useful biomarkers for the detection of disease presence and/or its severity due to HIV infection and ART use.