Prevotella timonensis Bacteria Associated With Vaginal Dysbiosis Enhance Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Susceptibility Of Vaginal CD4+ T Cells

Nienke H van Teijlingen; Marleen Y van Smoorenburg; Ramin Sarrami-Forooshani; Esther M Zijlstra-Willems; John L van Hamme; Hanneke Borgdorff; Janneke H H M van de Wijgert; Elisabeth van Leeuwen; Joris A M van der Post; Karin Strijbis; Carla M S Ribeiro; Teunis B H Geijtenbeek

doi:10.1093/infdis/jiae166

Prevotella timonensis Bacteria Associated With Vaginal Dysbiosis Enhance Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Susceptibility Of Vaginal CD4+ T Cells

J Infect Dis. 2024 Jul 25;230(1):e43-e47. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiae166.

Authors

Nienke H van Teijlingen^{1

2

3}, Marleen Y van Smoorenburg^{1

2}, Ramin Sarrami-Forooshani^{1

4}, Esther M Zijlstra-Willems^{1

2}, John L van Hamme^{1

2}, Hanneke Borgdorff^{5

6}, Janneke H H M van de Wijgert⁷, Elisabeth van Leeuwen³, Joris A M van der Post³, Karin Strijbis⁸, Carla M S Ribeiro^{1

2}, Teunis B H Geijtenbeek^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Experimental Immunology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
² Amsterdam Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁴ Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, Academic center for Education, Culture and Research, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁶ Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
⁷ Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
⁸ Department of Biomolecular Health Sciences, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiome poses a serious risk for sexual human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transmission. Prevotella spp are abundant during vaginal dysbiosis and associated with enhanced HIV-1 susceptibility; however, underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated the direct effect of vaginal bacteria on HIV-1 susceptibility of vaginal CD4+ T cells. Notably, pre-exposure to Prevotella timonensis enhanced HIV-1 uptake by vaginal T cells, leading to increased viral fusion and enhanced virus production. Pre-exposure to antiretroviral inhibitors abolished P timonensis-enhanced infection. Our study shows that the vaginal microbiome directly affects mucosal CD4+ T-cell susceptibility, emphasizing importance of vaginal dysbiosis diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: Prevotella timonensis; CD4+ T cells; HIV-1 susceptibility; microbiome; vaginal dysbiosis.

MeSH terms

CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes* / immunology
Disease Susceptibility
Dysbiosis* / microbiology
Female
HIV Infections* / immunology
HIV Infections* / microbiology
HIV Infections* / virology
HIV-1*
Humans
Microbiota
Prevotella* / isolation & purification
Vagina* / immunology
Vagina* / microbiology
Vagina* / virology
Virus Internalization

Abstract

MeSH terms

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