Figure 1.

Timeline of the experimental protocols using human female reproductive tract explants. Samples of female reproductive tract tissues were received, dissected, and placed into culture on day 0, the same day they were transfected with nanoparticles containing siRNA. On day 2, the explants were thoroughly washed to remove residual siRNA nanoparticles, and some sections were exposed to cell-free HIV-1BaL. On day 3, the HIV-exposed explants were again thoroughly washed to remove any unincorporated HIV-1. CCR5 and CD4 mRNA levels were measured on uninfected ectocervical explants on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8, and only on days 3 and 6 in explants from endometrium and endocervix. HIV-1 DNA was measured on the HIV-1 exposed explant cultures on day 8.