Lingappa, JairamScoville, Caitlin Wright2013-07-252015-12-142013-07-252013Scoville_washington_0250O_11835.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/1773/23733Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2013Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common vaginal syndrome associated with altered microflora that increases the risk of preterm delivery and acquisition of sexually transmitted diseases. The cause of BV is unknown although toll-like receptors (TLRs) that initiate the innate immune response may be important. We evaluated associations between TLR SNPs and BV among HIV-1 infected and uninfected African women. Logistic regression and a GEE model were used to assess associations between SNPs in TLRs 2-4, 7-9 and BV as classified by Nugent's criteria. Among HIV-1 uninfected women, TLR7 rs5743737, TLR7 rs1634323 and TLR2 rs1898830 were associated with a decreased risk of BV while TLR7 rs179012 was associated with an increased risk. TLR2 SNPs rs1898830 and rs3804099 were associated with a decreased risk of BV among HIV-1 infected women. Our findings indicate that HIV-1 infection may modify the association of TLR variants with risk for BV.application/pdfen-USCopyright is held by the individual authors.Bacterial Vaginosis; HIV-1; host variation; innate immune system; SNP; Toll-like ReceptorsEpidemiologyGeneticsImmunologyepidemiologyThesis