Previously, numerous studies reported that uncircumcised men have higher rates of HIV infection and are at a twofold to eightfold increased risk of becoming infected with HIV compared to circumcised men. However, why circumcision plays a protective role against acquisition of HIV has been unknown.
A study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Pathology by researchers at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Children's Memorial Hospital and the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health points to the biological mechanisms underlying this protective effect.
The researchers examined foreskin tissue obtained from eight children and six adults who were undergoing circumcision for other reasons. Those tissues were compared with cervical tissue, which served as controls. The analysis showed that foreskin mucosa (cells underneath the surface) contain high concentrations of the cells targeted by HIV. The foreskin tissue contained higher densities of CD4+ T cells, macropahges and Langerhans' Cells (LC) in adults than in children or in cervical tissue. The highest proportion of these HIV target cells were found in men with a history of infection, which is consistent with studies finding that men with sexually transmitted infections are more susceptible to HIV.
According to Alan Landay, PhD, department of Immunology/Microbiology and at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, the higher the concentration of HIV target cells, the more susceptible the tissue is to HIV. This proved to be the case. When the authors introduced HIV to the tissue in culture, the cells in the foreskin tissues were infiltrated w
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Contact: Chris Martin
cmartin@rsh.net
312-942-7820
Rush University Medical Center
4-Sep-2002