HIV integration-mediated modulation of immune regulation in HPV-associated cancers

This project will compare cervical tissues from HIV-infected women who have progressed to pre-cancer/carcinoma to those with spontaneous clearance of high-risk HPV infections to determine if tissues differ in distribution of HIV integration sites, density of T regulatory cells with HIV proviruses and expression of checkpoint molecules, and immune protein profiles in cervical secretions. The major goals of this project are to determine whether HIV infection drives a novel mechanism for HPV-associated cancer development and progression.