No abstract

Young women in certain regions of the world are at very high risk of acquiring HIV-1, and there is an urgent need to identify the factors that promote HIV-1 transmission. HIV-1 infection is frequently accompanied by infection with other pathogenic viruses. We demonstrate that coinfection of cells by HIV-1 and HTLV-1 can lead to production of HIV-1 pseudotyped with HTLV-1 Env that is able to directly infect female genital epithelial cells both in vitro and ex vivo. Given the function of these epithelial cells as genital mucosal barriers to pathogenic virus transmission, the ability of HIV-1 pseudotyped with HTLV-1 Env to directly infect female genital epithelial cells represents a possible factor for increased risk of sexual transmission of HIV-1. This mechanism could be especially impactful in settings such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South America, where HIV-1 and HTLV-1 are both highly prevalent.