"In vitro" spontaneous production of B-chemokines by endocervical and endometrial short-term bioptic cultures

Several studies indicate that HIV-1 is present in the cervico-vaginal tissu es and secretions of infected women representing an important determinant o f both sexual and mother-to-child transmission. HIV-1 genital shedding is i nfluenced by various factors; among these, proinflammatory cytokines, in pa rticular the beta /C-C chemokine group (RANTES, MIP-1 alpha and MIP-1 beta) , are known to suppress HIV-1 replication and thus might affect both sexual and vertical transmission. This study aimed to standardize a procedure to measure "in vitro'' uterine spontaneous chemokine production by means of sh ort-term cultures of endocervical and endometrial bioptic fragments. In mos t cases, "in vitro" chemokine production was observed in both fragment cult ures. These results further confirm that beta /C-C chemokines exist in the female genital tract and that uterine mucosa actively produces basal levels of these immune-active substances. This method constitutes a useful approa ch to evaluate cytokine production and expression in the female genital tra ct, their influence on HIV-1 expression and infectivity in this site, and t heir possible role in viral transmission.