CD11c+ dermal dendritic cells are abundant HIV target cells in the foreskin and are increased in men with HIV-associated penile anaerobes.

In inner foreskin tissue from 116 HIV-negative Ugandan men, 48.6% of cells co-express CD4 and CCR5 with CD11c, identifying abundant HIV-susceptible dermal dendritic cells.

• Why it matters: HIV-associated penile anaerobes correlate with epithelial barrier loss and higher T cell density, but how myeloid populations relate to these anaerobe-linked states was unknown.
• What they did: Using quantitative immunofluorescence and penile microbiome data, the study tested whether BASIC species abundance tracked densities of foreskin DC2 subsets and integrated these with prior cytokine measurements.
• The result: Higher BASIC species abundance was linked to greater density of foreskin dermal CD11c+ DC2 populations, and CD207-negative DC2 density correlated with IL-1β, IL-1α, IL-8, CCL4, MMP-9, and resistin.

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