Reuters (Geneva), Jul 02

Healthy epithelial cells that line the body cavities and cover structures such as the cervix and prostate resist HIV infection, according to a report presented Thursday at the 12th World AIDS Conference by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.

But this protection against infection is lost when the cells have been altered by infection with other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

This is the first study to demonstrate that normally functioning epithelial cells are incapable of transmitting HIV, said CDC researcher Dr. Charlene Dezzutti in a press statement. But STDs and other factors which damage these cells can play a major role in the sexual spread of this epidemic.

The normally functioning cells formed a tight bond between cells that would not allow HIV to pass through, while the (diseased) cells failed to develop a tight bond and did allow passage of the virus, according to the CDC statement.

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