Phenotypic and functional characterisation of cervical and peripheral HIV-1 specific T cell responses

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-109).Distinct HIV variants occur at the genital mucosa compared to in blood, which may similarly result in differences in HIV T cell responses. There have been no studies of the maturational status of HIV-specific T cells present at the female genital mucosa. This study aimed to characterise HIV-specific cervical immune responses and to determine if compartmentalized immune responses occur in chronic HIV infection by comparing the characteristics of T cells at the cervical mucosa to those in blood