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Speedball alters the Vpr‐mediated apoptosis in neurons
Author(s) -
Santiago Ismael Dean,
Torres Lillith,
Noel Richard
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.lb231
Subject(s) - apoptosis , neurotoxicity , microglia , viability assay , cytotoxicity , viral replication , biology , transfection , microbiology and biotechnology , toxicity , programmed cell death , virology , chemistry , in vitro , virus , cell culture , immunology , biochemistry , genetics , organic chemistry , inflammation
HIV infection leads to Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND) in nearly 50% of patients. HIV infects microglia and astrocytes in the brain. Infected astrocytes normally do not support viral replication but do express viral proteins. The HIV‐1 viral protein R (Vpr) is an important factor in viral replication and contributes to HAND by eliciting apoptosis in neurons. HIV positive drug abusers show higher neurotoxicity than their nonabusing counterparts. Speedball is a commonly abused drug mixture of cocaine and heroin. We hypothesize that speedball enhances the Vpr‐mediated neuronal apoptosis. We co‐cultured SH‐SY5Y neurons with Vpr‐transfected SVGA astrocytes in the presence of different concentrations of speedball. We then measured markers of cell apoptosis, cell viability and toxicity using a fluorescent assay. Vpr caused apoptosis and cytotoxicity in neurons. Speedball effects were dependent on dose with higher doses reducing Vpr toxicity. Viability measurements were unchanged under the conditions we tested. These data suggest that the combination of Vpr and high dose speedball induced a protective response in neurons. Supported by NIH: DA026722, MD007579 and GM096955.