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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been isolated from both male and female genital secretions. We evaluated the pattern of female genital carriage during the menstrual cycle, and its relationship to HIV viremia. Seven menstruating seropositive women and one seronegative control had cervical secretions and venous blood samples cultured at weekly intervals during a single menstrual cycle. The virus was isolated from cervical secretions in four of seven women. No specific cycle pattern was seen, and positivity for HIV at one site (blood or cervical) did not correlate with positivity at another site. Blood cultures generally, but not always, became positive earlier than cultures from cervical specimens, suggesting higher titers of virus in blood. Thus, HIV secretion may be intermittent. These findings, together with earlier reports, suggest that seropositive women may transmit HIV at any time during the menstrual cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcriptional control of gene expression contributes to the regulation of diverse cellular processes including cell cycle progression and the cellular response to DNA damage. Global gene expression profiling was performed using p53-deficient human cells to identify genes with G(2)/M-specific and DNA damage-responsive expression. Numerous cell cycle-regulated genes were identified, but surprisingly the analysis failed to identify genes activated by ionizing radiation. Instead, significant delays in expression of G(2)/M-specific genes, including known mitotic regulators, were observed following DNA damage. Thus, in the absence of p53, gene induction does not contribute to the G(2) arrest following DNA damage. Rather, the DNA damage checkpoint elicits a G(2) cell cycle arrest, in part, by delaying accumulation of proteins required in mitosis.

With the rapid growth of HIV infection among African Americans, the issue of how medical problems relate to psychological functioning in the black community population has acquired new meaning and urgency for health care policy. To develop effective strategies to meet the mental health needs of infected African Americans we need a better understanding of the pattern of Association between HIV and psychological distress. The objective of this study is to test several hypotheses that predict depression and anxiety in black adults infected with HIV. Our conceptual model is derived from learned helplessness theory (Seligman, 1975), the concept of perceived coherence (Antonovsky, 1980; Lewis & Gallison, 1989), and social support theory (Cohen & Willis, 1985). Instruments used in the study include: The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale (Radloff, 1977), the Anxiety Scale (Lewis, Firsich, and Parsell, 1979), and the Perceived Coherence Scale (Lewis, 1989). Data were obtained from 255 HIV infected black males and females (age > or = 18) who sought support, counseling, and maintenance services from one of three HIV care and referral centers in the Mid-South. The results of the study emphasize the relative importance of perceived physical symptoms over stage of illness for psychological functioning among African American adults with HIV. Further, the findings also demonstrate the potential importance of perceived coherence for psychological functioning. Black clients who reported higher perceived coherence, regardless of the stage of illness or level of HIV symptoms, had lower anxiety and depression. Significant gender differences in depression are also observed and implications are drawn for strategies to address HIV related mental health care needs of African Americans.

Cervical secretions from 14 women seropositive for HTLV-III/LAV were obtained between days 7 and 21 of the menstrual cycle and cultured for virus. HTLV-III/LAV was isolated from cervical secretions in 4 of 14 women, as well as from blood of 7 of 13 women tested. Female genital secretions may therefore be a source for sexual transmission of the virus to men.