| Title | Alpha-defensins in the Prevention of HIV Transmission among Breastfed Infants |
| Authors | Kuhn L., Trabattoni D., Kankasa C., Semrau K., Kasonde P., Lissoni F., Sinkala M., Ghosh M., Vwalika C., Aldrovandi G. M., Thea D. M., Clerici M. |
| Publication | J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2005 May; 39(2):138-42. |
| Abstract | Alpha-defensins have been observed to have anti-HIV activity but have not been investigated in relation to mother-to-child HIV transmission. We measured the concentration of alpha-defensins in breast milk of HIV-positive mothers and tested whether the concentrations were associated with HIV transmission. A nested case-control study of 32 HIV-positive women who transmitted HIV to their infants and 52 randomly selected HIV-positive women who did not transmit HIV to their infants was conducted in Lusaka, Zambia. alpha-Defensins were detected in most (79%) of the milk samples tested. Concentrations of alpha-defensins increased as breast milk HIV RNA quantity increased, and breast milk HIV RNA quantity was, in turn, a strong and significant predictor of HIV transmission. After adjustment for milk HIV RNA quantity, however, alpha-defensin concentration was significantly associated with a decreased risk of intrapartum and postnatal HIV transmission (odds ratio = 0.3, 95% confidence interval: 0.09-0.93). Our data suggest that there may be a role for alpha-defensins in prevention of HIV transmission to breastfed infants. |
| URL | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15905728 |
| Related Projects | Zambia Exclusive Breastfeeding Study (ZEBS)
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