BACKGROUND The mechanism of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission via heterosexual intercourse is unknown. We sought to determine whether the presence of inflammatory cells in the vagina is associated with the presence of genital tract HIV type 1 (HIV-1) RNA. METHODS Analysis of a longitudinal prospective cohort was performed. Women with HIV-1 infection were assessed with use of pai...

Th1 cells and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) production play critical roles in protective immunity against genital tract infections by Chlamydia trachomatis. Here we show that inducible costimulatory molecule (ICOS)(-/-) mice develop greatly augmented host resistance against chlamydial infection. Protection following a primary infection was characterized by strong Th1 immunity with enhanced CD4(+...

One of the risk factors for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and subsequent lower genital tract neoplasias and cancers is impaired cell-mediated immunity. HIV-positive women with severe immunosuppression are 5 times more likely than HIV-negative women to have lower genital tract neoplasias. A corresponding increase in the risk of invasive vulvar and anal cancers, but not of cervical cancer,...

BACKGROUND Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) are a major cause of hospitalisation in young children. Many factors can lead to increased risk of ALRI in children and predispose a child to hospitalisation, but population attributable fractions for different risk factors and how these fractions differ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children is unknown. This study investigates popula...

Women who are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at greater risk for the development of lower genital tract neoplasia than are HIV-negative women. Among HIV-positive women, those who are more severely immunosuppressed appear to be at higher risk for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), also known as squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs). Women who are HIV-positive also ...

We report here on the multiple genital tract neoplasms in a 41-yr-old Korean woman with Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome (PJS). The patient presented with lower abdominal pain. Her previous medical history was PJS and breast cancer. Pelvic ultrasound showed a multilocular cyst at the right adnexal region, diagnosed as bilateral ovarian mucinous borderline tumors. An ovarian sex cord tumor with annular tu...

To date, it has not been possible to study antigen-specific T cell responses during primary infection of the genital tract. The low frequency of pathogen-specific T cells in a naïve mouse makes it difficult to monitor the initial events after antigen encounter. We developed a system to examine the response of pathogen-specific T cells in the genital mucosa after intrauterine infection. We ident...

Bacterial infections of the genitial tract are the major cause of reproductive failure in the mare. The variety of bacteria involved has been carefully established in the past and is approved in recent studies. There are approved laboratory procedures for etiologic diagnostics of bacterial infections of the female equine genital tract. Innovative molecular based approaches aim at elucidating, f...

Benign smooth muscle cell proliferation commonly involves a variety of body organs, yet is a rare finding in the spermatic cord or paratesticular tissue of the male genital tract. Here we discuss a case of smooth muscle hyperplasia of the epididymis which presented as an intrascrotal mass. This is a very rare condition and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any paratesticular...

Mating changes female reproductive behavior in profound ways. In Drosophila, the trigger for this behavioral switch is a small peptide called sex peptide (SP), which is transferred with the male seminal fluid during insemination. Two papers in this issue of Neuron (Häsemayer et al. and Yang et al.) show that SP inhibits a small set of internal sensory neurons in the female genital tract. These ...