List of abbreviations ......................................................................................................................................... 5
List of figures ................................................................................................................................................... 7
List of tables .................................................................................................................................................... 7
Summary.......................................................................................................................................................... 8
Background ...................................................................................................................................................... 9
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 9
Immunity in the Female Genital Tract........................................................................................................... 9
Inflammation and HIV Risk ....................................................................................................................... 10
The Role of Bacterial Vaginosis and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Genital Inflammation and HIV Risk
.................................................................................................................................................................. 12
The Role of the Hormonal Cycle in Inflammation and HIV Risk ................................................................. 13
Contraceptives and HIV risk ....................................................................................................................... 15
Injectables.............................................................................................................................................. 15
Intrauterine devices ................................................................................................................................ 17
Implants ................................................................................................................................................. 17
Mechanisms underlying the possible relationship between contraceptives and HIV risk ............................... 17
Impact of long-acting contraceptives on FGT immunity .......................................................................... 17
Impact of contraceptives on cervicovaginal structure .............................................................................. 19
Impact of synthetic hormones on endogenous hormones ......................................................................... 20
HCs and the acquisition of STIs and BV ................................................................................................. 20
Rationale.................................................................................................................................................... 22
Aims ...................................................................................................................................................... 22
Methods and Materials ................................................................................................................................... 23
Study participants ....................................................................................................................................... 23
Specimen collection ................................................................................................................................... 23
STI diagnosis ............................................................................................................................................. 23
Lateral vaginal wall swab processing and aliquoting ................................................................................... 23
Cytokine, antimicrobial peptide and prostate specific antigen measurement ................................................. 24
Data analysis .............................................................................................................................................. 24
Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 25
Baseline Demographics .............................................................................................................................. 25
Immune mediator detection ........................................................................................................................ 32
Analysis of absolute immune mediator concentrations ................................................................................ 33
Analysis of fold change in immune mediator concentrations ....................................................................... 39
Principal component analysis ..................................................................................................................... 43
Unsupervised hierarchical clustering........................................................................................................... 49
Longitudinal changes in immune mediators ................................................................................................ 51
Changes in cytokine concentrations after adjustment for potential confounders ........................................... 54
Discussion ...................................................................................................................................................... 57
Quality of mediator data .............................................................................................................................
Radzey, N (2021). Impact Of Long-Acting Contraceptives On Female Genital Tract Cytokine Profiles In A Randomised Controlled Trial Nina Radzey (Rdznin001). Afribary. Retrieved from https://track.afribary.com/works/impact-of-long-acting-contraceptives-on-female-genital-tract-cytokine-profiles-in-a-randomised-controlled-trial-nina-radzey-rdznin001
Radzey, Nina "Impact Of Long-Acting Contraceptives On Female Genital Tract Cytokine Profiles In A Randomised Controlled Trial Nina Radzey (Rdznin001)" Afribary. Afribary, 15 May. 2021, https://track.afribary.com/works/impact-of-long-acting-contraceptives-on-female-genital-tract-cytokine-profiles-in-a-randomised-controlled-trial-nina-radzey-rdznin001. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
Radzey, Nina . "Impact Of Long-Acting Contraceptives On Female Genital Tract Cytokine Profiles In A Randomised Controlled Trial Nina Radzey (Rdznin001)". Afribary, Afribary, 15 May. 2021. Web. 24 Dec. 2024. < https://track.afribary.com/works/impact-of-long-acting-contraceptives-on-female-genital-tract-cytokine-profiles-in-a-randomised-controlled-trial-nina-radzey-rdznin001 >.
Radzey, Nina . "Impact Of Long-Acting Contraceptives On Female Genital Tract Cytokine Profiles In A Randomised Controlled Trial Nina Radzey (Rdznin001)" Afribary (2021). Accessed December 24, 2024. https://track.afribary.com/works/impact-of-long-acting-contraceptives-on-female-genital-tract-cytokine-profiles-in-a-randomised-controlled-trial-nina-radzey-rdznin001