Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Dec;24(6):665-669.
doi: 10.1007/s13365-018-0691-8. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Astrocytes as an HIV CNS reservoir: highlights and reflections of an NIMH-sponsored symposium

Lena Al-Harti  1 , Jeymohan Joseph  2 , Avindra Nath  3
Affiliations

Astrocytes as an HIV CNS reservoir: highlights and reflections of an NIMH-sponsored symposium

Lena Al-Harti et al. J Neurovirol. 2018 Dec.

Erratum in

Abstract

This a summary of a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) sponsored symposium that was focused on the role of astrocytes as a reservoir of the human immunodeficiency virus in the brain. The talks were grouped into four themes. The first theme reviewed the evidence for HIV infection of astrocytes and discussed the challenges in the use of traditional methods of immunostaining and in situ hybridization for detection of infected astrocytes. The second theme focused on mechanisms of HIV entry into astrocytes and discussed CD4 independent mechanisms, such as receptor-mediated endocytosis and transmission of HIV by cell-to-cell contact with infected lymphocytes. The third theme focused on epigenetic regulation of HIV latency in astrocytes and other factors, such as cytokines and transcriptional factors regulating HIV replication in astrocytes. The fourth theme focused on therapeutic approaches, such as gene editing to block persistently infected astrocytes. A discussion that followed was focused on major unanswered questions in the field and future directions for research.

Keywords: Astrocytes; Brain; HIV; Latency; Reservoir.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Almad A & Maragakis NJ A stocked toolbox for understanding the role of astrocytes in disease. Nat Rev Neurol 14, 351–362, doi:10.1038/s41582-018-0010-2 (2018). - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kim SJ & Wong PK p53 as a retrovirus-induced oxidative stress modulator. J Gen Virol 96, 144–149, doi:10.1099/vir.0.070391-0 (2015). - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gavrilin MA, Mathes LE & Podell M Methamphetamine enhances cell-associated feline immunodeficiency virus replication in astrocytes. J Neurovirol 8, 240–249, doi:10.1080/13550280290049660 (2002). - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nakagaki K et al. CXCR4 is the primary receptor for feline immunodeficiency virus in astrocytes. J Neurovirol 7, 487–492, doi:10.1080/135502801753170354 (2001). - DOI - PubMed
    1. Levin MC, Rosenblum MK, Fox CH & Jacobson S Localization of retrovirus in the central nervous system of a patient co-infected with HTLV-1 and HIV with HAM/TSP and HIV-associated dementia. J Neurovirol 7, 61–65, doi:10.1080/135502801300069719 (2001). - DOI - PubMed

Publication types