Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026
Collection, Isolation, and Flow Cytometric Analysis of Human Endocervical Samples
Published on: July 6, 2014
Distribution of immune cells in the human cervix and implications for HIV transmission
Radiana T Trifonova1, Judy Lieberman, Debbie van Baarle
1Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Problem:
Knowledge of the mucosal immune cell composition of the human female genital tract is important for understanding susceptibility to HIV-1.
Method Of Study:
We developed an optimized procedure for multicolor flow cytometry analysis of immune cells from human cervix to characterize all major immune cell subsets in the endocervix and ectocervix.
Results:
Half of tissue hematopoietic cells were CD14(+) , many of which were macrophages and about a third were CD11c(+) , most of which were CD103(-) CD11b(+) CX3CR1(+) DC-SIGN(+) dendritic cells (DCs). The other dominant population were T cells, with more CD8 than CD4 cells. T cells (both CD8 and CD4) and B cells were more abundant in the ectocervix than endocervix of pre-menopausal women; however, CD8(+) T cell and B cell numbers declined in the ectocervix after menopause, while CD4 T cell counts remained higher. B, NK and conventional myeloid and plasmocytoid DCs each were a few percent of tissue hematopoietic cells. Although the ectocervix had more HIV-susceptible CD4(+) T cells, polarized endocervical explants supported HIV replication significantly better.
Conclusion:
Due to their abundance in the genital tract, CX3CR1(+) DC-SIGN(+) DCs might be important in HIV transmission. Our data also suggest that the columnar epithelium of the upper genital tract might be a preferential site for HIV transmission.
