Microbiology Commons^™

Antibiotic Efficacy And Interaction In Escherichia Coli During Varying Nutrient Conditions, Kristina K. Millar

Scripps Senior Theses

Due to the recent rise in antibiotic resistant pathogens, and the difficulties surrounding the quest for new antibiotics, many researchers have started revisiting antibiotic interactions in hopes of finding new treatment options. The primary outcome of this project was to examine the efficacy of concomitant antibiotic use under varying nutrient conditions, to identify variations in antibiotic interactions. Antibiotic interactions were studied, utilizing E. coli as a model bacterial system, grown in four different media types. E. coli cultures were treated with streptomycin, tobramycin, erythromycin, and amikacin individually and in a pairwise fashion at varying doses. We found that at least …

Determining The Role Of Poly [Adp-Ribose] Polymerase 1 (Parp-1) In Retroviral Infection, Luis Valdes Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Possible links between PARP-1 and HIV-1 have been previously reported but the role of this protein during viral infection has remained elusive. Based on the high evolutionary conservation of PARP-1, from Drosophila to humans, we have been able to counteract the difficulties related with the functional redundancy manifested in the PARP family by studying the influence of PARP-1 on the expression of an endogenous retrovirus using the chicken B lymphoblastoid cell line DT40, this cell line exhibits low PARP-1 functional redundancy and is viable after PARP-1 knockout. We have determined that the transcription level of the endogenous retrovirus RAV-1 is …

Complete Genome Sequence Of Highly Virulent Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Variants That Recently Emerged In The United States, Aspen M. Workman, Timothy P.L. Smith, Fernando A. Osorio, Hiep L.X. Vu

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

A recent outbreak of particularly virulent disease caused by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus has occurred in swine herds across the United States. We report here the complete genome sequence of eight viral isolates from four Nebraska herds experiencing an outbreak of severe disease in 2016.

Domain I Of The 5′ Non-Translated Genomic Region In Coxsackievirus B3 Rna Is Not Required For Productive Replication, L. Jaramillo, S. Smithee, S. Tracy, N. M. Chapman

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Domain I is a cloverleaf-like secondary structure at the 5′ termini of all enterovirus genomes, comprising part of a cis-acting replication element essential for efficient enteroviral replication. 5′ genomic terminal deletions up to as much as 55% of domain I can occur without lethality following coxsackie B virus infections. We report here that the entire CVB structural domain I can be deleted without lethality.

Reversion To Wildtype Of A Mutated And Nonfunctional Coxsackievirus B3cre(2c), Shane Smithee, Steven Tracy, Nora M. Chapman

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The cis-acting replication element (CRE) in the 2C protein coding region [CRE(2C)] of enteroviruses (EV) facilitates the addition of two uridine residues (uridylylation) onto the virus-encoded protein VPg inorder for it to serve as the RNA replication primer. We demonstrated that coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is replication competent in the absence of a native (uridylylating) CRE(2C) and also demonstrated that lackof a functional CRE(2C) led to generation of 5’ terminal genomic deletions in the CVB3 CRE-knock-out (CVB3-CKO) population. We asked whether reversion of the mutated CRE(2C) occurred, thus permitting sustained replication, and when were 5’ terminal deletions generated during replication. Virions …

Replicating Single-Cycle Adenovirus Vectors Generate Amplified Influenza Vaccine Responses, Catherine M. Crosby, William E. Matchett, Stephanie S. Anguiano-Zarate, Christopher A. Parks, Eric A. Weaver, Larry R. Pease, Richard J. Webby, Michael A. Barry

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Head-to-head comparisons of conventional influenza vaccines with ade- novirus (Ad) gene-based vaccines demonstrated that these viral vectors can mediate more potent protection against influenza virus infection in animal models. In most cases, Ad vaccines are engineered to be replication-defective (RD-Ad) vectors. In contrast, replication-competent Ad (RC-Ad) vaccines are markedly more potent but risk causing adenovirus diseases in vaccine recipients and health care workers. To harness antigen gene replication but avoid production of infectious virions, we de- veloped “single-cycle” adenovirus (SC-Ad) vectors. Previous work demonstrated that SC-Ads amplify transgene expression 100-fold and produce markedly stronger and more persistent immune responses than …

Inhibition Of Bacterial Growth And Prevention Of Bacterial Adhesion With Localized Nitric Oxide Delivery, Julia Osborne

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Bacterial infections continue to be a problem at the site of an indwelling medical device, and over the years, various bacterial strains have become more resistant to current antibiotic treatments. Bacterial infection at an indwelling medical device can be dangerous and affect the performance of the medical device which can ultimately lead to the failure of the device due to bacterial resistance to treatment.

Nitric Oxide (NO) has been shown to possess antibacterial properties to prevent and inhibit bacterial growth. NO releasing coatings on indwelling medical devices could provide a reduction in bacterial infections that occur at the device site …

Local Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (Crh) Signals To Its Receptor Crhr1 During Postnatal Development Of The Mouse Olfactory Bulb, Isabella Garcia, Paramjit K Bhullar, Burak Tepe, Joshua Ortiz-Guzman, Longwen Huang, Alexander M Herman, Lesley Chaboub, Benjamin Deneen, Nicholas J Justice, Benjamin R Arenkiel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Neuropeptides play important physiological functions during distinct behaviors such as arousal, learning, memory, and reproduction. However, the role of local, extrahypothalamic neuropeptide signaling in shaping synapse formation and neuronal plasticity in the brain is not well understood. Here, we characterize the spatiotemporal expression profile of the neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and its receptor CRHR1 in the mouse OB throughout development. We found that CRH-expressing interneurons are present in the external plexiform layer, that its cognate receptor is expressed by granule cells, and show that both CRH and CRHR1 expression enriches in the postnatal period when olfaction becomes important towards olfactory-related …

Design And Testing Of Novel Anthrax Vaccines Utilizing A Tobacco Mosaic Virus Expression System, Ryan C. Mccomb

KGI Theses and Dissertations

Anthrax is a potentially fatal disease caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis. Infection and disease occur after spores gain entry into the body, germinate into vegetative bacteria, and produce toxin. Bacillus anthracis spores have been engineered as bioweapons and have been used repeatedly in warfare and terrorism to inflict casualties in military and civilian populations. Currently, only one vaccine has been approved for prevention of anthrax in the United States. This vaccine is an undefined product that is difficult to produce, requires a long vaccination schedule, and is reactogenic. Efforts to make an improved anthrax vaccine are being pursued. …

Cyclic Di-Gmp-Mediated Repression Of Swarming Motility By Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pa14 Requires The Motab Stator, S. L. Kuchma, N. J. Delalez, L. M. Filkins, E. A. Snavely, J. P. Armitage, G. A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

The second messenger cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) plays a critical role in the regulation of motility. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14, c-di-GMP inversely controls biofilm formation and surface swarming motility, with high levels of this dinucleotide signal stimulating biofilm formation and repressing swarming. P. aeruginosa encodes two stator complexes, MotAB and MotCD, that participate in the function of its single polar flagellum. Here we show that the repression of swarming motility requires a functional MotAB stator complex. Mutating the motAB genes restores swarming motility to a strain with artificially elevated levels of c-di-GMP as well as stimulates swarming in the wild-type strain, …

Steroid Receptor Isoform Expression In Drosophila Nociceptor Neurons Is Required For Normal Dendritic Arbor And Sensitivity, Aidan L. Mcparland, Taylor L. Follansbee, Gwendolyn D. Vesenka, Alexandra E. Panaitiu, Geoffrey K. Ganter

Biology Student Publications

Steroid hormones organize many aspects of development, including that of the nervous system. Steroids also play neuromodulatory and other activational roles, including regulation of sensitivity to painful stimuli in mammals. In Drosophila, ecdysteroids are the only steroid hormones, and therefore the fly represents a simplified model system in which to explore mechanisms of steroid neuromodulation of nociception. In this report, we present evidence that ecdysteroids, acting through two isoforms of their nuclear ecdysone receptor (EcR), modulate sensitivity to noxious thermal and mechanical stimuli in the fly larva. We show that EcRA and EcRB1 are expressed by third instar larvae in …

Loss Of Glycosaminoglycan Receptor Binding After Mosquito Cell Passage Reduces Chikungunya Virus Infectivity, Amber M. Paul, Dhiraj Acharya, John F. Anderson, Faqing Huang, Fengwei Bai

Publications

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that can cause fever and chronic arthritis in humans. CHIKV that is generated in mosquito or mammalian cells differs in glycosylation patterns of viral proteins, which may affect its replication and virulence. Herein, we compare replication, pathogenicity, and receptor binding of CHIKV generated in Vero cells (mammal) or C6/36 cells (mosquito) through a single passage. We demonstrate that mosquito cell derived CHIKV (CHIKVmos) has slower replication than mammalian cell derived CHIKV (CHIKVvero), when tested in both human and murine cell lines. Consistent with this, CHIKVmos infection in both cell lines produce less cytopathic …

A Tail Of Two Phages: Genomic And Functional Analysis Of Listeria Monocytogenes Phages Vb_Lmos_188 And Vb_Lmos_293 Reveal The Receptor-Binding Proteins Involved In Host Specificity, Aidan Casey, Kieran Jordan, Horst Neve, Aidan Coffey, Olivia Mcauliffe

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The physical characteristics of bacteriophages establish them as viable candidates for downstream development of pathogen detection assays and biocontrol measures. To utilize phages for such purposes, a detailed knowledge of their host interaction mechanisms is a prerequisite. There is currently a wealth of knowledge available concerning Gram-negative phage-host interaction, but little by comparison for Gram-positive phages and Listeria phages in particular. In this research, the lytic spectrum of two recently isolated Listeria monocytogenes phages (vB_LmoS_188 and vB_LmoS_293) was determined, and the genomic basis for their observed serotype 4b/4e host-specificity was investigated using comparative genomics. The late tail genes of these …

Role Of The Dna Sensor Sting In Protection From Lethal Infection Following Corneal And Intracerebral Challenge With Herpes Simplex Virus 1, Zachary M. Parker, Aisling A. Murphy, David. A. Leib

Dartmouth Scholarship

STING is a protein in the cytosolic DNA and cyclic dinucleotide sensor pathway that is critical for the initiation of innate responses to infection by various pathogens. Consistent with this, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) causes invariable and rapid lethality in STING-deficient (STING(-/-)) mice following intravenous (i.v.) infection. In this study, using real-time bioluminescence imaging and virological assays, as expected, we demonstrated that STING(-/-) mice support greater replication and spread in ocular tissues and the nervous system. In contrast, they did not succumb to challenge via the corneal route even with high titers of a virus that was routinely lethal …

Selective Involvement Of The Checkpoint Regulator Vista In Suppression Of B-Cell, But Not T-Cell, Responsiveness By Monocytic Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells From Mice Infected With An Immunodeficiency-Causing Retrovirus, Kathy A. Green, Li Wang, Randolph J. Noelle, William R. Green

Dartmouth Scholarship

Inhibition of T-cell responses in tumor microenvironments by myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) is widely accepted. We demonstrated augmentation of monocytic MDSCs whose suppression of not only T-cell, but also B-cell, responsiveness paralleled the immunodeficiency during LP-BM5 retrovirus infection. MDSCs inhibited T cells by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)/nitric oxide (NO), but uniquely, inhibition of B cells was ~50% dependent each on iNOS/NO and the MDSC-expressed negative-checkpoint regulator VISTA. Blockade with a combination of iNOS/NO and VISTA caused additive or synergistic abrogation of MDSC-mediated suppression of B-cell responsiveness.

Functional Analysis Of The Molluscum Contagiosum Virus Mc160 Death Effector Domain-Containing Protein Rxdl Motif, Sarah Weber

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) is a member of the Poxviridae family that causes benign skin lesions. MCV lesions persist on average for 8-12 months in otherwise healthy individuals. MCV lesions are characterized by reduced inflammation. The persistence and reduction of inflammation at the site of MCV lesions have been attributed to MCV immune evasion genes. MCV encodes two death effector domain (DED) containing proteins, MC159 and MC160. DEDs are found in cellular proteins such as FADD and procaspase-8. These cellular proteins are involved in several innate immune responses such as apoptosis and activation of interferon (IFN). Presumably, MC159 and …

Tonb Not Directly Related To Efflux Of Antibiotics In E. Coli, Amber Gombash

Honors Projects

Studies in Pseudomonas aeruginosa have suggested that the TonB energy transduction system directly contributes to efflux-mediated antibiotic resistance, ostensibly by energizing one or more efflux systems. We have found ∆tonB strains of Escherichia coli to similarly be more sensitive to certain antibiotics relative to wild-type strains. To test the hypothesis that this enhanced sensitivity involved the energization of efflux systems, sensitivity patterns for a variety of antibiotics were evaluated using a set of strains differentially lacking genes encoding the Acr efflux system, the universal outer membrane efflux portal TolC, and TonB. No correlation was evident between the resistance phenotypes of …

Identification Of Transcription Factors Gzf3, Rfx1, Orf19.3928 As Being Implicated In Candida-Bacterial Interactions., Joni Watson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen that is present in the normal flora in a majority of individuals. One key factor in C. albicans virulence is the ability to change its morphology from yeast to an elongated or hyphal form. The regulation of this morphogenesis relies in part upon quorum sensing (QS) molecules. C. albicans often exists as part of a mixed culture alongside other microbes and is influenced by their presence as well as the presence of QS molecules that they produce. In this study, a library of diploid homozygous transcriptional regulator knockout (TRKO) mutants were screened to identify …

Characterization And Investigation Of Fungi Inhabiting The Gastrointestinal Tract Of Healthy And Diseased Humans, Mallory J. Suhr

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Gastrointestinal microbiome studies have failed to include fungi in total community analyses. As a result, their diversity and function in the gut is poorly understood. Recent work has begun to uncover the role intestinal fungi play in diet, immune system development, interactions with other microorganisms in the gut, and pathogenesis of diseases. Advances in sequencing technologies allow for the ability to profile the fungal gut microbiome (“mycobiome”) in healthy and diseased states. This thesis explores the mycobiome in 1) healthy humans with a vegetarian diet and 2) pediatric small bowel transplant recipients that develop fungal bloodstream infections.

The gut mycobiome …

Early Initiation Of Antiretroviral Therapy Can Functionally Control Productive Hiv-1 Infection In Humanized-Blt Mice, Qingsheng Li, For Yue Tso, Guobin Kang, Wuxun Lu, Yue Li, Wenjin Fan, Zhe Yuan, Christopher J. Destache, Charles Wood

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Background—Recent reports showed that functional control of HIV-1 infection for a prolonged time is possible by early anti-retroviral therapy (ART); however its underlying mechanism needs to be studied with a suitable animal model. Recently, humanized-BLT (bone marrow, liver and thymus) mouse (hu-BLT) was shown to be an excellent model for studying HIV-1 infection. We thus tested the feasibility of studying functional control of HIV-1 infection using hu-BLT mice.

Methods—Animals in three treatment groups (Rx-6h, Rx-24h, Rx-48h) and untreated group were infected with HIV-1, followed by ART initiation at 6, 24 or 48 hours post-infection and continued daily for two weeks. …

The Role Of Dendritic Cell Subsets And Innate Immunity In The Pathogenesis Of Type 1 Diabetes And Other Autoimmune Diseases, Jeffrey D. Price, Kristin V. Tarbell

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Dendritic cells (DCs) are key antigen-presenting cells that have an important role in autoimmune pathogenesis. DCs control both steady-state T cell tolerance and activation of pathogenic responses. The balance between these two outcomes depends on several factors, including genetic susceptibility, environmental signals that stimulate varied innate responses, and which DC subset is presenting antigen. Although the specific DC phenotype can diverge depending on the tissue location and context, there are four main subsets identified in both mouse and human: conventional cDC1 and cDC2, plasmacytoid DCs, and monocyte-derived DCs. In this review, we will discuss the role of these subsets in …

A Nuclear Fraction Of Turnip Crinkle Virus Capsid Protein Is Important For Elicitation Of The Host Resistance Response, Sung-Hwan Kang, Feng Qu, Thomas J. Morris

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The N-terminal 25 amino acids (AAs) of turnip crinkle virus (TCV) capsid protein (CP) are recognized by the resistance protein HRT to trigger a hypersensitive response (HR) and systemic resistance to TCV infection. This same region of TCV CP also contains a motif that interacts with the transcription factor TIP, as well as a nuclear localization signal (NLS). However, it is not yet known whether nuclear localization of TCV CP is needed for the induction of HRT-mediated HR and resistance. Here we present new evidence suggesting a tight correlation between nuclear inclusions formed by CP and the manifestation of HR. …

A Novel Codon-Optimized Siv Gag-Pol Immunogen For Genebased Vaccination, Catherine M. Crosby, Eric A. Weaver, Reeti Khare, Michael A. Barry

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) is a robust pathogen used in non-human primates to model HIV vaccines. SIV encodes a number of potential vaccine targets. By far the largest and most conserved protein target in SIV is its gag-pol protein that bears many epitopes to drive multivalent immune T cell responses. While gag-pol is an attractive antigen, it is only translated after a frame shift between gag and pol with the effect that gag and pol are expressed at an approximate 10/1 ratio. The codon bias of native lentiviral genes are also mismatched with the abundance of tRNAs in mammalian cells …

Whole-Genome Sequencing Of Kaposi’S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus From Zambian Kaposi’S Sarcoma Biopsy Specimens Reveals Unique Viral Diversity, Landon Olp, Adrien Jeanniard, Clemence Marimo, Charles Wood

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiological agent for Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). Both KSHV and KS are endemic in sub-Saharan Africa where approximately 84% of global KS cases occur. Nevertheless, whole-genome sequencing of KSHV has only been completed using isolates from Western countries—where KS is not endemic. The lack of whole-genome KSHV sequence data from the most clinically important geographical region, sub-Saharan Africa, represents an important gap since it remains unclear whether genomic diversity has a role on KSHV pathogenesis. We hypothesized that distinct KSHV genotypes might be present in sub-Saharan Africa compared to Western countries. Using a KSHV-targeted enrichment …

Observed And Expected Incidence Of Cervical Cancer In Lusaka And The Southern And Western Provinces Of Zambia, 2007 - 2012, Mulele Kalima, Kennedy Lishimpi, Jane L. Meza, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, Susan C. Msadabwe, Catherine K. Mwaba, Aaron L. Shibemba, Lewis Banda, Charles Wood, Robert M. Chamberlain, Amr S. Soliman

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Objectives—Cervical cancer is increasing but underestimated in developing countries. We calculated the observed and expected incidence of cervical cancer in Lusaka and Southern and Western provinces of Zambia.

Methods/Materials—Data for 2007-2012 was obtained for the 3 provinces. Data included age, residence, year of diagnosis, marital status, occupation, HIV, stage, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Expected incidence in Southern and Western provinces was calculated based on observed incidence for Lusaka province, adjusting for HIV.

Results—Crude and age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) in Lusaka were 2-4 times higher than incidence in the other 2 provinces. Lusaka had a rate of 54.1/10⁵ and ASR of …

Crf07_Bc Strain Dominates The Hiv-1 Epidemic In Injection Drug Users In Liangshan Prefecture Of Sichuan, China, Lin Li, Daying Wei, Wan-Ling Hsu, Tianyi Li, Tao Gui, Charles Wood, Yongjian Liu, Hanping Li, Zuoyi Bao, Siyang Liu, Xiaolin Wang, Jingyun Li

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The Liangshan prefecture in Sichuan province is an area in China severely affected by the HIV epidemic, with intravenous drug use (IDU) as the main risk factor. No reports on HIV subtypes prevalent in IDUs in Liangshan prefecture could be found. In this study, we have characterized the genotypes of HIV-1 in the IDU population in Liangshan prefecture and further determined the phylogenetic relationship of the CRF07_BC strains to HIV-1 sequences from the other regions of China, including Xinjiang and Yunnan provinces, to explore the pattern and possible diffusion pathway of HIV-1 in these regions. HIV-1-seropositive drug-naive IDUs identified in …

Mcl1 Enhances The Survival Of Cd8+ Memory T Cells After Viral Infection, Jingang Gui, Zhuting Hu, Ching-Yi Tsai, Tian Ma, Yan Song, Amanda Morales, Li-Hao Huang, Ethan Dmitrovsky, Ruth Craig, Edward Usherwood

Dartmouth Scholarship

Viral infection results in the generation of massive numbers of activated effector CD8+ T cells that recognize viral components. Most of these are short-lived effector T cells (SLECs) that die after clearance of the virus. However, a small proportion of this population survives and forms antigen-specific memory precursor effector cells (MPECs), which ultimately develop into memory cells. These can participate in a recall response upon reexposure to antigen even at protracted times postinfection. Here, antiapoptotic myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL1) was found to prolong survival upon T cell stimulation, and mice expressing human MCL1 as a transgene exhibited a skewing …

Characterization Of Cd8+ T Cell Differentiation Following Sivδnef Vaccination By Transcription Factor Expression Profiling, James M. Billingsley, Premeela A. Rajakumar, Michelle A. Connole, Nadine C. Salisch, Sama Adnan, Yury V. Kuzmichev, Henoch S. Hong, R. Keith Reeves, Hyung-Joo Kang, Wenjun Li, Qingsheng Li, Ashley T. Haase, R. Paul Johnson

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The onset of protective immunity against pathogenic SIV challenge in SIVΔnef-vaccinated macaques is delayed for 15-20 weeks, a process that is related to qualitative changes in CD8⁺ T cell responses induced by SIVΔnef. As a novel approach to characterize cell differentiation following vaccination, we used multi-target qPCR to measure transcription factor expression in naïve and memory subsets of CD8+⁺ T cells, and in SIV-specific CD8⁺ T cells obtained from SIVΔnef-vaccinated or wild type SIVmac239-infected macaques. Unsupervised clustering of expression profiles organized naïve and memory CD8⁺ T cells into groups concordant with cell surface phenotype. Transcription factor …

Escherichia Coli Surface Display Of Single-Chain Antibody Vrc01 Against Hiv-1 Infection, Lin-Xu Wang, Michael Mellon, Dane Bowder, Meghan Quinn, Danielle Shea, Charles Wood, Shi-Hua Xiang

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transmission and infection occur mainly via the mucosal surfaces. The commensal bacteria residing in these surfaces can potentially be employed as a vehicle for delivering inhibitors to prevent HIV-1 infection. In this study, we have employed a bacteria-based strategy to display a broadly neutralizing antibody VRC01, which could potentially be used to prevent HIV-1 infection. The VRC01 antibody mimics CD4-binding to gp120 and has broadly neutralization activities against HIV-1. We have designed a construct that can express the fusion peptide of the scFv-VRC01 antibody together with the autotransporter β-barrel domain of IgAP gene from …

Evidence For Placental Hpv Infection In Both Hiv Positive And Negative Women, Chrispin Chisanga, Dawn Eggert, Charles D. Mitchell, Charles Wood, Peter C. Angeletti

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) have previously been reported to infect epithelial trophoblast cells of the placenta. To investigate this possibility, 200 placental samples from Zambian women were separated into HIV+ and HIV− groups and tested for HPV by redundant primer PCR, using GP5+/GP6+ and CPI/CPII primer sets. Three HPV genotypes (HPV6, 16 and 90) were detected in placental samples. Whereas, 20 different HPV genotypes were detected in vaginal sampling of the same patients, suggesting that compartment specific sub-populations of HPV may exist. The incidence of HPV16 in placental samples was almost 2-fold greater in HIV+ women compared to HIV− (p = …