Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROIMMUNE PHARMACOLOGY
Volume 4, Issue 3, Pages 350-358Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11481-009-9150-x
Keywords
HIV-1; TNF-alpha; cognition; drug abuse; immune function; dementia
Categories
Funding
- [R01 DA12792]
- [DA13550]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
TNF-alpha is a highly pleiotropic cytokine and plays an important role in regulating HIV-1 replication. It may compromise the integrity of the blood-brain-barrier and, thus, may contribute to the neurotoxicity of HIV-1-infection. Both intravenous drug abuse (IDU) and HIV infection can increase TNF-alpha activity, but little information is available on the effects of a combination of these factors on TNF-alpha. We investigated plasma TNF-alpha levels and mRNA in the peripheral monocytes of 166 men and women in three groups: HIV-1-positive IDUs, HIV-1-negative IDUs, and HIV-negative non-IDU control participants. HIV-1-positive IDUs had higher TNF-alpha levels than HIV-1-negative IDUs who, in turn, had higher levels than controls. TNF-alpha mRNA expression in peripheral monocytes was significantly increased in both HIV-1-positive and negative IDUs compared to controls. These findings show that the effects of HIV infection and intravenous drug use may be additive in increasing TNF-alpha levels. Given the multiple effects of TNF-alpha in HIV infection, additional investigation of its role is needed.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available