Mean concentrations of cationic peptides in cervicovaginal sections (CVS) of HIV-1-uninfected women, stratified by hormonal contraceptive use. Concentrations are expressed as ng/ml. Error bars indicate the 95% confidence interval for the mean estimate. Thin horizontal lines indicate the mean concentration in women using no hormonal contraception. Bold horizontal lines indicate statistical significance at p < 0.05 (*) and p < 0.01 (**). Individuals with peptide levels below the lower limit of detection are indicated at the bottom of each plot. The lower limit of detection for HNP1–3 was 0.156 ng/ml, for LL-37 was 0.100 ng/ml, for SLPI was 0.0625 ng/ml, for lactoferrin was 0.400 ng/ml, and for HBD-2 was 0.0156 ng/ml.