Transplacental Infection of HIV-1 and the Associated Risk Factors In Utero

Abstract

Background: Identifying risk factors in "in utero" transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is important when designing preventive interventions. Several lines of evidence suggest that Natural Killer (NK) cells have an important role in antiviral defence. However, the Human Leucocyte Antigen-G (HLA-G) molecules are inhibitory of these cell-mediated immune responses and could, therefore, promote the propagation of HIV-1 infection across the placental interface thus increasing the risk of vertical transmission.