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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.07.20.453134

Abundance of Nef and p-Tau217 in brains of individuals diagnosed with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders correlate with disease severance

Pushkarsky, T.·Ward, A. I.·Sviridov, D.·Bukrinsky, M. I.
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Abstract

HIV-associated neurological disorders (HAND) is a term used to describe a variety of neurological impairments observed in HIV-infected individuals. The pathogenic mechanisms of HAND and its connection to HIV infection remain unknown. The brain samples from HIV-infected individuals, both with and without HAND, were characterized by increased abundance of p-Tau217 peptide, which correlated with the abundance of flotillin 1, a marker of lipid rafts. HIV-1 Nef was detected in some, but not all, samples from HAND-affected individuals. Samples positive for Nef had lower abundance of cholesterol transporter ABCA1, higher abundance of flotillin 1 and p-Tau217, and were obtained from individuals with higher severity of HAND relative to Nef-negative samples. These results highlight the contribution of Nef and Nef-dependent effects on cholesterol metabolism and lipid rafts to the pathogenesis of HAND and support a connection between pathogenesis of HAND and Alzheimers disease.

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Pushkarsky, T., Ward, A. I., Sviridov, D., Bukrinsky, M. I.. 2021-07-21. Abundance of Nef and p-Tau217 in brains of individuals diagnosed with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders correlate with disease severance. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.20.453134

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