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Interactions of human immunodeficiency virus‐1 proteins with neurons: possible role in the development of human immunodeficiency virus‐1‐associated dementia
Author(s) -
Van De Bovenkamp M.,
Nottet H. S. L. M.,
Pereira C. F.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2362.2002.01029.x
Subject(s) - dementia , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , virology , virus , immunodeficiency , immunology , in vivo , biology , medicine , disease , immune system , genetics , pathology
Human immunodeficiency virus‐1 (HIV‐1)‐associated dementia is a severe neurological complication of HIV‐1 infection that affects 15–20% of the patients in the late stages of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. HIV‐1‐associated dementia is most probably a consequence of HIV‐1 infection of the brain rather than of an opportunistic pathogen. The exact mechanism by which the virus causes this disorder, however, is not completely understood. A number of HIV‐1 proteins have been shown to be released from HIV‐1‐infected cells and/or to be present in the extracellular milieu in the HIV‐1‐infected brain. Moreover, these proteins have been shown to posses neurotoxic and/or neuromodulatory features in vitro . This review describes the possible direct interactions of the HIV‐1 proteins gp120, gp41, vpr, tat, rev, vpu and nef with neurons, which might play a role in the development of HIV‐1‐associated dementia in vivo .