To address the relationship between the observed effect on HIV-1 infection and tissue inflammation/cell activation status in tonsillar tissue explants, we measured the levels of selected pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines that have been previously shown to be modulated in blood and cervico-vaginal specimens of DMPA users or upon in vitro MPA treatment, namely IL-1β, IL-17A, IL-22, CCL3, CCL4, CCL5, and CCL20 [19]. The gene discussed is CCL5; the disease is HIV-1 infection.