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
. 2022 Sep 29;75(6):1088-1091.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac115.

Genital Immune Cell Activation and Tenofovir Gel Efficacy: A Case-Control Study

Lenine J P Liebenberg  1   2 , Jo Ann S Passmore  1   3   4 , Farzana Osman  1 , Janine Jewanraj  1   2 , Andile Mtshali  1   2 , J Gerardo Garcia-Lerma  5 , Walid Heneine  5 , Angela Holder  5 , Derseree Archary  1   2 , Sinaye Ngcapu  1   2 , Aida Sivro  1   2   6 , Leila E Mansoor  1   7 , Quarraisha Abdool Karim  1   8 , Salim S Abdool Karim  1   8 , Lyle R McKinnon  1   6
Affiliations

Genital Immune Cell Activation and Tenofovir Gel Efficacy: A Case-Control Study

Lenine J P Liebenberg et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Genital inflammation (GI) undermines topical human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) efficacy through unknown mechanisms. Here, associations between activated endocervical CD4 + T-cell numbers and higher deoxyadenosine triphosphate (dATP) concentrations suggest that competition for intracellular metabolites within HIV target cells may reduce the efficacy of antiretroviral-based PrEP in women with GI.

Keywords: HIV; dATP; genital inflammation; immune activation; tenofovir.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. W. H. and J. G. G.-L. report royalties or licenses from Mylan, Laurus Generics, TAD Pharma, and CIPLA Limited. J. G. G.-L. and W. H. are named in the US govern­ment patents on Inhibition of HIV infection through chemoprophylaxis (US patents 9044509B2, 9579333, 9937191, 10335423B2), HIV Post-exposure prophylaxis (US patent 11,191,763 B2), and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (US govt patent application 17/628,170). All other authors re­port no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors con­sider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

References

    1. Abdool Karim Q, Abdool Karim SS, Frohlich JA, et al. Effectiveness and safety of tenofovir gel, an antiretroviral microbicide, for the prevention of HIV infection in women. Science 2010; 329:1168–74. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Obiero J, Ogongo P, Mwethera PG, Wiysonge CS. Topical microbicides for preventing sexually transmitted infections. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2021; 3:1–115. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McKinnon LR, Liebenberg LJ, Yende-Zuma N, et al. Genital inflammation undermines the effectiveness of tenofovir gel in preventing HIV acquisition in women. Nat Med 2018; 24:491–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Masson L, Passmore J-AS, Liebenberg LJ, et al. Genital inflammation and the risk of HIV acquisition in women. Clin Infect Dis 2015; 61:260–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arnold KB, Burgener A, Birse K, et al. Increased levels of inflammatory cytokines in the female reproductive tract are associated with altered expression of proteases, mucosal barrier proteins, and an influx of HIV-susceptible target cells. Mucosal Immunol 2016; 9:194–205. - PubMed

Publication types