Among 413 Nigerian men who have sex with men and transgender women, retrospective testing for Mycoplasma genitalium revealed mostly asymptomatic infections of the anorectum (prevalence, 36.8%; incidence, 18.4 cases/100 person-years) and urogenital tract (12.4%, 4.0 cases/100 person-years). Risk factors included HIV and increasing number of sex partners.

The importance of innate immune cells in HIV-1 pathogenesis and protection has been highlighted by the role of natural killer (NK) cells in the containment of viral replication. Use of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in immunologic studies provides both HIV-1 target cells (ie. CD4+ T cells), as well as anti-HIV-1 effector cells, such as NK cells. In this study, NK and other immune cell populations were analyzed in HIV-negative donor PBMC for an impact on the anti-HIV activity of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. NK cell percentages were significantly higher in donor PBMC that supported lower levels of viral replication. While the percentage of NK cells was not directly associated with neutralization titers, NK cell-depletion significantly diminished the antiviral antibody activity by up to three logs, and polymorphisms in NK killer immunoglobulin receptor (KIR) and FcγRIIIa alleles appear to be associated with this affect. These findings demonstrate that NK cells and NK cell receptor polymorphisms may influence assessment of traditional HIV-1 neutralization in a platform where antibody is continuously present. This format appears to simultaneously assess conventional entry inhibition (neutralization) and non-neutralizing antibody-dependent HIV inhibition, which may provide the opportunity to delineate the dominant antibody function(s) in polyclonal vaccine responses.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and associated public health responses have disrupted daily living activities with economic and health consequences globally. We observed transient decreases in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinic visit adherence and food security among persons living with HIV early in the pandemic, and an increase in viral suppression later in the pandemic.