NIH Study Suggests Immune System Protein in Semen Boosts HIV Spread in Female Genital Tissue

“An immune system protein normally found in semen appears to enhance the spread of HIV to tissue from the uterine cervix, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. “The protein interleukin 7 (IL-7) belongs to a family of proteins that regulate the immune response. IL-7 is present in normal semen, and occurs at especially high levels in the semen of men with HIV. “The researchers developed a culture system of small pieces of tissue from the cervix and used this system to simulate male-to-female transmission of HIV, which causes AIDS. They observed the spread of the virus in cervical tissue under controlled laboratory conditions. In the presence of IL-7 at levels typically found in semen of men with HIV, the virus spreads to the tissue more readily than it spreads to tissue not treated with IL-7." More information is available: NIH: Press release