ArticlePLoS pathogens2022
Insertive condom-protected and condomless vaginal sex both have a profound impact on the penile immune correlates of HIV susceptibility.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- HIV Transmission and Immunology of the Male Reproductive Tract.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- Article
- The overlooked role of the seminovaginal microbiota in infertility: a narrative mini review.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- Insertive vaginal sex is associated with altered penile immunology and enrichment of Gardnerella vaginalis in uncircumcised Ugandan men.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2024Article
- How Does Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Reduce HIV Risk?Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2022Review
- Immune parameters of HIV susceptibility in the female genital tract before and after penile-vaginal sex.Communications medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The penis is the primary site of HIV acquisition in heterosexual men. Elevated penile inflammatory cytokines increase sexual acquisition risk, and topically applied cytokines enhance foreskin HIV susceptibility in an explant model. However, the impact of penile-vaginal sex on these immune parameters is undefined. Heterosexual couples were recruited to the Sex, Couples and Science (SECS) Study, with the collection of penile swabs, semen, cervico-vaginal secretions, and blood after a period of abstinence, and repeated sampling up to 72 hours after either condomless (n = 30) or condom-protected (n = 8) penile-vaginal sex. Soluble immune parameters were quantified by multiplex immunoassay. Co-primary immune endpoints were penile levels of IL-8 and MIG, cytokines previously linked to penile HIV acquisition. One hour after sex there were dramatic increases in penile IL-8 and MIG levels, regardless of condom use, with a gradual return to baseline by 72 hours; similar patterns were observed for other chemoattractant chemokines. Penile cytokine changes were similar in circumcised and uncircumcised men, and repeated measures ANOVA and ANCOVA models demonstrated that the degree of change after condomless sex was explained by cytokine levels in their partners' cervico-vaginal secretions. This may have important implications for the biology of penile HIV acquisition.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.