Lingappa, JairamLin, Yu-Ting2019-08-142019-08-142019-08-142019-08-142019Lin_washington_0250O_20407.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/1773/44441Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Trichomonas vaginalis (Tv) is the most common non-viral, sexually transmitted infection. There is evidence that Tv infection increases risk of HIV-1 acquisition and transmission. The detailed mechanism underlying Tv infection is not clear, although toll-like receptors (TLRs) may be involved in innate immune responses when stimulated by Tv. This study evaluated the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that represent common variation across TLR genes and Tv acquisition/transmission. Logistic regression analyses were performed among 70 African heterosexual men to evaluate the association between TLR SNPs and Tv acquisition, and among 61 African heterosexual women for association between TLR SNPs and Tv transmission. Our results showed that SNPs in TLR2, 3, 4, 7, 8, TIRAP, and MyD88 may be associated with Tv acquisition/transmission. TIRAP rs1893352 was significantly associated with Tv acquisition among men (p = 0.002) , and TLR7 rs1634319 was significantly associated with Tv transmission from women to study partners (p = 0.001). Our finding also indicated that HIV-1 serostatus may modify some associations between TLR SNPs and Tv acquisition/transmission.application/pdfen-USnoneTLRsToll-like receptorsTrichomonas vaginalistrichomoniasisEpidemiologyGeneticsPublic health geneticsThesis