Fighting HIV infections through seminal bacteria

Semen contains sperm, immune factors and communities of bacteria. The latter two have been studied for their effect or relationship to the amount of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in semen or what is termed, the viral load. It was decided that infection with HIV re-shapes the relationship between semen bacteria and immune factors which in turn affects the viral load.

A recent study was a research on the relationship between semen bacteria and HIV infection using semen samples from 49 men who have sex with men (MSM). The MSM population was pertinent because of its high risk to HIV infection and transmission. Thereafter, some were put on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for 6 months.

Both men discovered that persons infected with untreated HIV have markedly reduced seminal microbial diversity . After 6 months ART therapy, semen viral load was found reduced to undetectable levels while bacterial diversity in the semen was restored.

This result supports the hypothesis that seminal bacteria plays a role in HIV shedding and should be a possible target in the fight against HIV transmission through sexual activity.

Further reading: The Semen Microbiome and Its Relationship with Local Immunology and Viral Load in HIV Infection.