HIV InfectionsNCT03064425
Understanding HIV Susceptibility in the Female Genital Tract
An observational study of HIV Infections, run by Unity Health Toronto.
Trial summary
There is great variability in susceptibility from one person to another, and less than one in a hundred sexual exposures to HIV results in infection. In addition, some recent trial of methods to prevent HIV - including vaccines and microbicides - have actually increased HIV acquisition among trial participants for… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 19 years and older, women onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- HIV Infections
- What is being tested?
- Vaginal and blood sample collection
- How many people
- 98 participants
- Where
- No sites listed yet
- Study dates
- Jan 2015to Jan 2017
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 19 years and older
- Women only
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: This study is recruiting healthy non-pregnant women from the St. Michael's Gynecology clinic.
Who may be able to join
- women over the age of 18 years
Who cannot join
- pregnant
- actively menstruating
- known HIV infection
- genital ulceration or discharge on history or physical examination
About this study
There is great variability in susceptibility from one person to another, and less than one in a hundred sexual exposures to HIV results in infection. In addition, some recent trial of methods to prevent HIV - including vaccines and microbicides - have actually increased HIV acquisition among trial participants for reasons that we do not fully understand. While we know that immune differences in the genital lining are an important determinant of whether a person is infected after a sexual HIV exposure, we don't know enough about these differences to be able to accurately assess a person's individual HIV risk. Therefore, the development of safe and non-invasive laboratory tests to estimate a person's susceptibility in the genital tract would be useful in clinical studies of new HIV prevention tools.
Read the detailed description
Heterosexual intercourse is the most common mode of transmission of HIV, but the risk of HIV acquisition after exposure is so low that studies to assess HIV risk must have a huge sample size. The goal of this study is to assess the suitability of a prototype pseudovirus assay to identify early HIV target cells in the female genital tract, using cervical cytobrush samples collected from healthy women, and to optimize assay sensitivity.
This novel HIV entry assay may overcome the need for a large sample size by directly measuring how susceptible a person is by using a sample similar to a PAP test. The assay is performed on immune cells obtained from a cervical cytobrush and enables assessment of HIV cell entry within 24 hours. If the assay works, this technique may have the potential to assess the impact of clinical parameters such as stage of menstrual cycle, or sexually transmitted infections and their treatment on HIV susceptibility in the female genital tract. Therefore, the assay may serve as an important monitoring tool in clinical trials of HIV prevention, serving as an invaluable intermediate endpoint to assess HIV acquisition risk, rather than relying on actual participant HIV seroconversion/infection.
- Conditions
- HIV Infections
- Being tested
- Vaginal and blood sample collection
- Medical subject headings
- HIV Infections
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Vaginal and blood sample collectionBiological
The researchers will obtain approximately 20 mL of blood from participants. Participants will also undergo a pelvic exam where a sample of cells will be collected from the cervix using two small cytobrushes. In addition, a cervicovaginal lavage will be collected using saline.
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
CD4 cell infection
The absolute number of CD4+ cells per cytobrush that are infected by HIV
Measured: Assay to be conducted within 24 hours of sample collection
Secondary outcomes (1)
Type of infected CD4 cells
Nature of the CD4+ cells that are infected, ie: identification of immune characteristics that are associated with preferential HIV cell entry. Parameters to be assessed include immune activation markers and the expression of HIV coreceptors and integrins.
Measured: Assay to be conducted within 24 hours of sample collection
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted27 Feb 2017
- Study startJan 2015
- Primary completionJan 2017
- Study completionJan 2017
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for HIV InfectionsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Unity Health TorontoThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 98 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Unity Health Toronto
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Mark Yudin, MD, Principal investigator, Unity Health Toronto
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03064425
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 14-007
- Status last verified
- Feb 2019
- First submitted
- 22 Feb 2017
- Last updated
- 22 Feb 2019
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 22 Feb 2019. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Understanding HIV Susceptibility in the Female Genital Tract
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03064425
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 14-007
- Conditions
- HIV Infections
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 98 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Unity Health TorontoUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Jan 2015 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Jan 2017 (actual)
- Study completion
- Jan 2017 (actual)
- First posted
- 27 Feb 2017 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
There is great variability in susceptibility from one person to another, and less than one in a hundred sexual exposures to HIV results in infection. In addition, some recent trial of methods to prevent HIV - including vaccines and microbicides - have actually increased HIV acquisition among trial participants for reasons that we do not fully understand. While we know that immune differences in the genital lining are an important determinant of whether a person is infected after a sexual HIV exposure, we don't know enough about these differences to be able to accurately assess a person's individual HIV risk. Therefore, the development of safe and non-invasive laboratory tests to estimate a person's susceptibility in the genital tract would be useful in clinical studies of new HIV prevention tools.
Detailed description
Heterosexual intercourse is the most common mode of transmission of HIV, but the risk of HIV acquisition after exposure is so low that studies to assess HIV risk must have a huge sample size. The goal of this study is to assess the suitability of a prototype pseudovirus assay to identify early HIV target cells in the female genital tract, using cervical cytobrush samples collected from healthy women, and to optimize assay sensitivity.
This novel HIV entry assay may overcome the need for a large sample size by directly measuring how susceptible a person is by using a sample similar to a PAP test. The assay is performed on immune cells obtained from a cervical cytobrush and enables assessment of HIV cell entry within 24 hours. If the assay works, this technique may have the potential to assess the impact of clinical parameters such as stage of menstrual cycle, or sexually transmitted infections and their treatment on HIV susceptibility in the female genital tract. Therefore, the assay may serve as an important monitoring tool in clinical trials of HIV prevention, serving as an invaluable intermediate endpoint to assess HIV acquisition risk, rather than relying on actual participant HIV seroconversion/infection.
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 19 years and older
- Sex
- Female only
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- This study is recruiting healthy non-pregnant women from the St. Michael's Gynecology clinic.
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- women over the age of 18 years
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- pregnant
- actively menstruating
- known HIV infection
- genital ulceration or discharge on history or physical examination
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Vaginal and blood sample collectionThe researchers will obtain approximately 20 mL of blood from participants. Participants will also undergo a pelvic exam where a sample of cells will be collected from the cervix using two small cytobrushes. In addition, a cervicovaginal lavage will be collected using saline. | Biological | – |
Primary outcome
CD4 cell infection
Time frame: Assay to be conducted within 24 hours of sample collection
The absolute number of CD4+ cells per cytobrush that are infected by HIV
1 secondary outcome
Type of infected CD4 cells
Time frame: Assay to be conducted within 24 hours of sample collection
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 22 Feb 2019.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Mark Yudin, MD principal investigator
Unity Health Toronto
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of HIV Infections, run by Unity Health Toronto.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 22 Feb 2019. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
CD4 cell infection (time frame: Assay to be conducted within 24 hours of sample collection). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 22 Feb 2019.