Infection of ectocervical tissue explants with HIV-1_BaL.

Infection of ectocervical explants with HIV-1_BaL was independently performed after seminal plasma (SP) 25% treatment (post-SP,red), or in the presence of SP25% (SP-mix, blue) (see S1B Fig). In selected experiments, explants infected in the presence of SP were treated with lamivudine (3TC) 10μM throughout culture time. A) Kinetics of HIV-1_BaL replication in explants treated with SP (colored line) or culture medium (CM) (black line). Virus replication was evaluated as p24_gag concentration in explant culture medium over 18 days. Represented are mean values with s.e.m. (n = 9 for post-SP; n = 8 for SP-mix; n = 3 for SP-mix+3TC). B) Cumulative p24_gag production over culture time. Lines connect measurements obtained from donor-matched explants. C) N-fold change in cumulative p24_gag production in SP-treated explants compared to donor-matched untreated explants. Bars indicate median values. p<0.05 denotes a significant difference with CM (Wilcoxon signed rank test). D) HIV-1 DNA quantification in explants infected with a mix of HIV and SP or CM, cultured in the presence or the absence of 3TC, and harvested at the end of culture (day18). HIV-1 DNA copy numbers were normalized to the amount of the single-copy gene HBB. Lines connect measurements obtained from donor-matched explants. E) N-fold change in HIV-1 DNA copy numbers in SP-treated explants compared to donor-matched untreated explants. The bar indicates median value. p<0.05 denotes a significant difference with CM (Wilcoxon signed rank test).