Chronic immune barrier dysregulation among women with a history of violence victimization

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Alison Swaims-Kohlmeier, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Lisa Haddad, Emory University; Zgeng-Rong Tiger Li, Emory University; Kathryn A. Brookmeyer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; James M. Baker, University of Arizona; Cathy Spatz Widom, City University of New York; James C. Lamousin, South Mississippi State Hospital; Kai-Hua Chi, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Chen Y. Chen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Ellen N. Kersh, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Jeffery A. Johnson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz, University of Arizona; Matthew Hogben, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Ighovwerha Ofotokun, Emory University; Jacob Kohlmeier, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-05-16
• Publisher: American Society for Clinical Investigation
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2019 American Society for Clinical Investigation
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.126097
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: JCI insight
• ISSN: 2379-3708
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 10
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by the US CDC and Emory University and in part by NIH grants R01HL122559 (to JEK); 1R15AI113457-01A1 (to MMHK); and K23HD078153-01A1 (to LBH); the Emory University Center for AIDS research (P30AI050409); and the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (KLR2TR000455, UL1TR000454).
• Keywords: MEMORY T-CELLS; PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS; BACTERIAL-VAGINOSIS; DENDRITIC CELLS; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Research & Experimental Medicine; RESIDENT; PROTECTION; Science & Technology; SUBSET; Medicine, Research & Experimental
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Health Sciences, Immunology; Health Sciences, Mental Health

Abstract

We explored the association between violence victimization and increased risk for acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in women by measuring cellular immune barrier properties from the female reproductive tract. STI-negative participants reporting repeated prior victimization occurrences through the lifetime trauma and victimization history (LTVH) instrument were more likely to exhibit alterations in barrier homeostasis and the composition of critical immune mediators irrespective of demographic parameters or presence of bacterial vaginosis. By combining cellular data with mixed-effect linear modeling, we uncovered differences in local T cells, MHCII+ antigen-presenting cells, and epithelial cells indicative of altered trafficking behavior, increased immunosuppressive function, and decreased barrier integrity at sites of STI exposure that correlate most strongly with LTVH score. These data evidence a biological link between a history of violence victimization and risk of STI acquisition through immune dysregulation in the female reproductive tract.