Women for science and science for women: Gaps, challenges and opportunities towards optimizing pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV-1 prevention

Quarraisha Abdool Karim (1, 2) , Derseree Archary (1) , Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (3) , Kristina Broliden (4) , Cecilia Cabrera (5) , Francesca Chiodi (4) , Sarah J Fidler (6) , Tanuja N Gengiah (1) , Carolina Herrera (6) , Ayesha B M Kharsany (1) , Lenine J P Liebenberg (1) , Sharana Mahomed (1) , Elisabeth Menu (7, 8) , Christiane Moog (9) , Gabriella Scarlatti (10) , Nabila Seddiki (7) , Aida Sivro (1, 11) , Mariangela Cavarelli (7)

1 UKZN - University of KwaZulu-Natal [Durban, Afrique du Sud]
2 Columbia University [New York]
3 IP - Institut Pasteur [Paris]
4 Karolinska Institutet [Stockholm]
5 UAB - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona = Autonomous University of Barcelona = Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
6 Imperial College London
7 IMVA-HB - Immunologie des maladies virales, auto-immunes, hématologiques et bactériennes
8 MISTIC - Mucosal Immunity and Sexually Transmitted Infection Control
9 IRM - Immuno-Rhumatologie Moléculaire
10 IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele [Milan, Italy]
11 Public Health Agency of Canada [Winnipeg]

Preventing new HIV infections remains a global challenge. Young women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of infection. Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), offers a novel women-initiated prevention technology and PrEP trials completed to date underscore the importance of their inclusion early in trials evaluating new HIV PrEP technologies. Data from completed topical and systemic PrEP trials highlight the role of gender specific physiological and social factors that impact PrEP uptake, adherence and efficacy. Here we review the past and current developments of HIV-1 prevention options for women with special focus on PrEP considering the diverse factors that can impact PrEP efficacy. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of inclusion of female scientists, clinicians, and community advocates in scientific efforts to further improve HIV prevention strategies.

Mots clés: HIV women prevention gender equity PrEP mucosal transmission inflammation microbiome; HIV; women; prevention; gender equity; PrEP; mucosal transmission; inflammation; microbiome

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Derseree Archary, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Kristina Broliden, Cecilia Cabrera, et al.. Women for science and science for women: Gaps, challenges and opportunities towards optimizing pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV-1 prevention. Frontiers in Immunology, 2022, 13, pp.1055042. ⟨10.3389/fimmu.2022.1055042⟩. ⟨pasteur-03935302⟩