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Sorting out HIV resistance
preventing HIV from infecting, or a combination of both,” explains Frank Plummer’s group of researchers Burgener. at the University of Manitoba (U of M; Cervical lavage samples were obCanada) and the Public Health Agency tained from four groups of Pumwani of Canada (PHAC) has studied sexually women. The 39 enrolled subjects were transmitted diseases (STDs) in a group close in age and did not have other of sex workers in Pumwani, Kenya, for STDs. Women in three groups (HIV-R, >20 years. In the 1980s, when HIV/ HIV-negative [HIV-N], and HIV-positive AIDS was starting to be recognized as [HIV-P]) were engaged in regular sex an important health crisis, the researchers discovered that about half of the Pumwani sex workers were infected. Over the years, the scientists realized that although some women presumably were exposed to HIV through their ongoing sex work (which could include 5-10 encounters every day), they were never infected. Surprisingly, the longer a woman was continuously involved in sex work, the less likely she was to be infected with HIV. After investigating and dismissing known mechanisms of HIV resistance, such as a deletion in the CCR5 gene, Plummer, Adam Burgener, Julie Boutilier, and colleagues at U of M, PHAC, and the University of Nairobi (Kenya) performed a proteomics study, which is reported in JPR (DOI 10.1021/ pr800406r). They identified several Protein classes. Proteins that were (a) up-regulated or (b) proteins that were differentially down-regulated in HIV-R women compared with women in expressed in cervical fluid control groups. Most of the up-regulated proteins are samples from HIV-resistant (HIVprotease inhibitors. R) women compared with controls. Because their previous studies work. HIV-R women were defined as demonstrated that the CD4 cells of the those who had been sex workers for HIV-R women could be infected in >3 years, yet were HIV-negative. The vitro, the researchers suspected that women in the HIV-N group also did factors responsible for resistance did not have an HIV infection, but had not reside in the blood. Instead, the been engaged in sex work for
