Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Mar 18;9(3):271.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines9030271.

The Importance of Regulation in Natural Immunity to HIV

Laurence Blondin-Ladrie  1   2 , Matheus Aranguren  1   2 , Kim Doyon-Laliberté  1   2 , Johanne Poudrier  1   2 , Michel Roger  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

The Importance of Regulation in Natural Immunity to HIV

Laurence Blondin-Ladrie et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

Worldwide, most Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections are acquired through heterosexual intercourse, and in sub-Saharan Africa, 59% of new HIV infections affect women. Vaccines and microbicides hold promise for preventing the acquisition of HIV. To this end, the study of HIV highly exposed seronegative (HESN) female commercial sex workers (CSWs), who constitute a model of natural immunity to HIV, provides an exceptional opportunity to determine important clues for the development of preventive strategies. Studies using both female genital tract (FGT) and peripheral blood samples of HESN CSWs, have allowed identifying distinct features, notably low-inflammatory patterns associated with resistance to infection. How this seemingly regulated response is achieved at the initial site of HIV infection remains unknown. One hypothesis is that populations presenting regulatory profiles contribute to the orchestration of potent anti-viral and low-inflammatory responses at the initial site of HIV transmission. Here, we view to update our knowledge regarding this issue.

Keywords: HIV; highly exposed seronegative (HESN); natural immunity; regulatory cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Active players in natural immunity to HIV.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. UNAIDS Global HIV & AIDS Statistics 2020 Fact Sheet. [(accessed on 17 March 2021)]; Available online: www.unaids.org.
    1. Lajoie J., Kimani M., Plummer F.A., Nyamiobo F., Kaul R., Kimani J., Fowke K.R. Association of Sex Work with Reduced Activation of the Mucosal Immune System. J. Infect. Dis. 2014;210:319–329. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiu023. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fourcade L., Poudrier J., Roger M. Natural Immunity to HIV: A Template for Vaccine Strategies. Viruses. 2018;10:215. doi: 10.3390/v10040215. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fenizia C., Rossignol J.F., Clerici M., Biasin M. Genetic and immune determinants of immune activation in HIV-exposed seronegative individuals and their role in protection against HIV infection. Infect. Genet. Evol. 2018;66:325–334. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2017.12.014. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schellenberg J.J., Plummer F.A. The Microbiological Context of HIV Resistance: Vaginal Microbiota and Mucosal Inflammation at the Viral Point of Entry. Int. J. Inflam. 2012;2012:131243. doi: 10.1155/2012/131243. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources