Browsing by Author "Passmore, Jo-Ann S"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Correction to: Microbial function and genital inflammation in young South African women at high risk of HIV infection
    (2022-03-09) Alisoltani, Arghavan; Manhanzva, Monalisa T; Potgieter, Matthys; Balle, Christina; Bell, Liam; Ross, Elizabeth; Iranzadeh, Arash; du Plessis, Michelle; Radzey, Nina; McDonald, Zac; Calder, Bridget; Allali, Imane; Mulder, Nicola; Dabee, Smritee; Barnabas, Shaun; Gamieldien, Hoyam; Godzik, Adam; Blackburn, Jonathan M; Tabb, David L; Bekker, Linda-Gail; Jaspan, Heather B; Passmore, Jo-Ann S; Masson, Lindi
    Correction to: Microbiome 8, 165 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-00932-8
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Effect of female genital schistosomiasis and anti-schistosomal treatment on monocytes, CD4+ T-cells and CCR5 expression in the female genital tract
    (Public Library of Science, 2014) Kleppa, Elisabeth; Ramsuran, Veron; Zulu, Siphosenkosi; Karlsen, Gunn Hege; Bere, Alfred; Passmore, Jo-Ann S; Ndhlovu, Patricia; Lillebø, Kristine; Holmen, Sigve D; Onsrud, Mathias
    BACKGROUND: Schistosoma haematobium is a waterborne parasite that may cause female genital schistosomiasis (FGS), characterized by genital mucosal lesions. There is clinical and epidemiological evidence for a relationship between FGS and HIV. We investigated the impact of FGS on HIV target cell density and expression of the HIV co-receptor CCR5 in blood and cervical cytobrush samples. Furthermore we evaluated the effect of anti-schistosomal treatment on these cell populations. Design The study followed a case-control design with post treatment follow-up, nested in an on-going field study on FGS. METHODS: Blood and cervical cytobrush samples were collected from FGS negative and positive women for flow cytometry analyses. Urine samples were investigated for schistosome ova by microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: FGS was associated with a higher frequency of CD14 + cells (monocytes) in blood (11.5% in FGS+ vs. 2.2% in FGS-, p = 0.042). Frequencies of CD4 + cells expressing CCR5 were higher in blood samples from FGS+ than from FGS- women (4.7% vs. 1.5%, p = 0.018). The CD14 + cell population decreased significantly in both compartments after anti-schistosomal treatment (p = 0.043). Although the frequency of CD4+ cells did not change after treatment, frequencies of CCR5 expression by CD4+ cells decreased significantly in both compartments (from 3.4% to 0.5% in blood, p = 0.036; and from 42.4% to 5.6% in genital samples, p = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: The results support the hypothesis that FGS may increase the risk of HIV acquisition, not only through damage of the mucosal epithelial barrier, but also by affecting HIV target cell populations, and that anti-schistosomal treatment can modify this.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    In Silico Characterisation of Putative Prophages in Lactobacillaceae Used in Probiotics for Vaginal Health
    (2022-01-20) Happel, Anna-Ursula; Kullin, Brian R; Gamieldien, Hoyam; Jaspan, Heather B; Varsani, Arvind; Martin, Darren; Passmore, Jo-Ann S; Froissart, Rémy
    While live biotherapeutics offer a promising approach to optimizing vaginal microbiota, the presence of functional prophages within introduced Lactobacillaceae strains could impact their safety and efficacy. We evaluated the presence of prophages in 895 publicly available Lactobacillaceae genomes using Phaster, Phigaro, Phispy, Prophet and Virsorter. Prophages were identified according to stringent (detected by ≥4 methods) or lenient criteria (detected by ≥2 methods), both with >80% reciprocal sequence overlap. The stringent approach identified 448 prophages within 359 genomes, with 40.1% genomes harbouring at least one prophage, while the lenient approach identified 1671 prophages within 83.7% of the genomes. To confirm our in silico estimates in vitro, we tested for inducible prophages in 57 vaginally-derived and commercial Lactobacillaceae isolates and found inducible prophages in 61.4% of the isolates. We characterised the in silico predicted prophages based on weighted gene repertoire relatedness and found that most belonged to the Siphoviridae or Myoviridae families. ResFam and eggNOG identified four potential antimicrobial resistance genes within the predicted prophages. Our results suggest that while Lactobacillaceae prophages seldomly carry clinically concerning genes and thus unlikely a pose a direct risk to human vaginal microbiomes, their high prevalence warrants the characterisation of Lactobacillaceae prophages in live biotherapeutics.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Modulation of female genital tract-derived dendritic cell migration and activation in response to inflammatory cytokines and toll-like receptor agonists
    (Public Library of Science, 2016) Shey, Muki S; Maharaj, Niren; Archary, Derseree; Ngcapu, Sinaye; Garrett, Nigel; Karim, Salim Abdool; Passmore, Jo-Ann S
    HIV transmission across the genital mucosa is a major mode of new HIV infections in women. The probability of infection may be influenced by several factors including recruitment and activation of HIV target cells, such as dendritic cells (DCs) and cytokine production, associated with genital inflammation. We evaluated the role of inflammatory cytokines and TLR signaling in migration and activation of genital tract DCs in the human cervical explant model. Hysterectomy tissues from 10 HIV-negative and 7 HIV-positive donor women were separated into ecto- and endocervical explants, and incubated with inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8, MIP-1β) or agonists for TLR4 (LPS), TLR2/1 (PAM3) and TLR7/8 (R848). Migration (frequency) and activation (HLA-DR expression) of myeloid and plasmacytoid DCs and Langerhans cells were measured by flow cytometry. We observed that cytokines, LPS and PAM3 induced activation of migrating myeloid and plasmacytoid DCs. LPS induced a 3.6 fold lower levels of migration of plasmacytoid DCs from HIV-infected women compared with HIV-uninfected women (median activation indices of 2.932 vs 0.833). There was however a 4.5 fold increase in migration of Langerhans cells in HIV-infected compared with HIV-uninfected women in response to cytokines (median activation indices of 3.539 vs 0.77). Only TLR agonists induced migration and activation of DCs from endocervical explants. Hormonal contraception use was associated with an increase in activation of DC subsets in the endo and ectocervical explants. We conclude that inflammatory signals in the female genital tract induced DC migration and activation, with possible important implications for HIV susceptibility of cervical tissues.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Probiotics for vaginal health in South Africa: what is on retailers’ shelves?
    (BioMed Central, 2017-01-19) Happel, Anna-Ursula; Jaumdally, Shameem Z; Pidwell, Tanya; Cornelius, Tracy; Jaspan, Heather B; Froissart, Remy; Barnabas, Shaun L; Passmore, Jo-Ann S
    Background: Probiotics are widely used to improve gastrointestinal (GI) health, but they may also be useful to prevent or treat gynaecological disorders, including bacterial vaginosis (BV) and candidiasis. BV prevalence is high in South Africa and is associated with increased HIV risk and pregnancy complications. We aimed to assess the availability of probiotics for vaginal health in retail stores (pharmacies, supermarkets and health stores) in two major cities in South Africa. Methods: A two-stage cluster sampling strategy was used in the Durban and Cape Town metropoles. Instructions for use, microbial composition, dose, storage and manufacturers’ details were recorded. Results: A total of 104 unique probiotics were identified in Cape Town and Durban (66.4% manufactured locally). Cape Town had more products than Durban (94 versus 59 probiotics), although 47% were common between cities (49/104). Only four products were explicitly for vaginal health. The remainder were for GI health in adults (51.0%) or infants (17.3%). The predominant species seen overall included Lactobacillus acidophilus (53.5%), L. rhamnosus (37.6%), Bifidobacterium longum ssp. longum (35.6%) and B. animalis ssp. lactis (33.7%). Products for vaginal health contained only common GI probiotic species, with a combination of L. acidophilus/B. longum ssp. longum/B. bifidum, L. rhamnosus/L. reuteri or L. rhamnosus alone, despite L. crispatus, L. gasseri, and L. jensenii being the most common commensals found in the lower female reproductive tract. Conclusion: This survey highlights the paucity of vaginal probiotics available in South Africa, where vaginal dysbiosis is common. Most vaginal products contained organisms other than female genital tract commensals