Open AccessHIV-1 decreases the levels of neurotrophins in human lymphocytes
Author(s) -
Valeriya Avdoshina,
Alfredo Garzino-Demo,
Alessia Bachis,
Maria Chiara Monaco,
Pauline M. Maki,
Rochelle E. Tractenberg,
Chenglong Liu,
Mary Young,
Italo Mocchetti
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
aids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.195
H-Index - 216
eISSN - 1473-5571
pISSN - 0269-9370
DOI - 10.1097/qad.0b013e32834671b3
Subject(s) - neurotrophin , neurotrophic factors , brain derived neurotrophic factor , neurotrophin 3 , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , immunology , apoptosis , nerve growth factor , medicine , immunopathology , biology , psychology , receptor , genetics
Neurotrophins control cell survival. Therefore, we examined whether HIV-1 reduces neurotrophin levels. Serum of HIV-positive individuals exhibited lower concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), but not of other neurotrophins, than HIV-negative individuals. In addition, R5 and X4 strains of HIV-1 decreased BDNF expression in T cells. Our results support the hypothesis that reduced levels of BDNF may be a risk factor for T-cell apoptosis and for neurological complications associated with HIV-1 infection.