Characterization of vaginal lactobacilli from HIV-negative and HIV-positive Indian women and their association with genital HIV-1 shedding

One of the crucial determinants for successful administration of lactobacilli to the vaginal niche is the use of appropriate Lactobacillus species. In this cross-sectional study 54 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative and 76 HIV-positive antiretroviral treatment-naive women were evaluated for culturable vaginal lactobacilli and their association with genital HIV-1 shedding. Lactobacillus species were identified by 16S rDNA sequencing while cervical and plasma HIV-1 viral load was determined by Abbott real-time PCR. Lactobacilli were isolated in 77.8 % HIV-negative and 73.7 % HIV-positive women. The mean log10 plasma and cervical HIV-1 viral loads (RNA copies ml−1) were 3.73±1.02 and 2.85±0.32 respectively. We observed that presence of L. crispatus, L. gasseri or L. jensenii species was associated with undetectable cervical HIV-1 (P=0.046) and reduced genital HIV-1 shedding (P=0.048) compared to other species. Our findings endorse using Lactobacillus-based strategies to aid the prevention of HIV-1 transmission among Indian women, however confirmation by future prospective studies is indeed warranted.