Immune milieu and microbiome of the distal urethra in Ugandan men: impact of penile circumcision and implications for HIV susceptibility

Among uncircumcised men, anaerobic gram-negative bacterial abundance and IL-8 levels in the coronal sulcus (CS) are strongly linked to HIV acquisition, and the dramatic reduction in both factors after penile circumcision (PC) may partly explain the protective efficacy of this procedure. Residual HIV acquisition post-PC may occur in the urethra, in addition to some pre-PC acquisition. However, the impact of PC on the urethral immune milieu and microbiome is unknown. This study investigates PC impact on urethral immunology, total bacterial load and anaerobe composition