HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1 INFECTION OF CELLS AND TISSUES FROM THE UPPER AND LOWER HUMAN FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE-TRACT

Viable tissue sections and isolated cell cultures from the human fallo pian tube, uterus, cervix, and vaginal mucosa were examined for suscep tibility to infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) . We examined infectivity by using the monocytotropic strain HIV-1(JR- FL) and several primary isolates of HIV-1 obtained from infected neona tes, HIV-1 infection was measured by p24 production in short-term cult ure and by immunofluorescence detection of HIV-1 Nef and p24 proteins by laser scanning confocal microscopy, Three-color immunofluorescence was used to phenotype HIV-infected cells within tissue sections from e ach site, Our findings indicate that epithelial, stromal, and dendriti c cells and cells with CD14(+) CD4(+), CD14(-)CD4(-), and CD4(+) CD14( -) phenotypes from the female reproductive tract are infectable with H IV-1. Of importance is the finding that tissues from the upper reprodu ctive tract are susceptible to infection with HIV-1, Moreover, tissue samples from women in all stages of the menstrual cycle, including pos tmenopausal women (inactive), could be infected with HIV-1, Female rep roductive tract cells required a minimum of 60 min of exposure to HIV- 1 in order for infection to occur, in contrast to peripheral blood lym phocytes, which became infected after being exposed to HIV-1 for only 1 min, These findings demonstrate that HIV-1 can infect cells and tiss ues from different sites within the female reproductive tract and sugg est that multiple cell types, including epithelial cells, may be targe ts for the initial infection by HIV-1.