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Review
. 2020 Mar;15(2):101-109.
doi: 10.1097/COH.0000000000000607.

Mitochondria and ageing with HIV

Matthew Hunt  1   2 , Brendan A I Payne  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Mitochondria and ageing with HIV

Matthew Hunt et al. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Some older people living with HIV (PLWH) exhibit features of unsuccessful ageing, such as frailty. Mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the best characterized ageing mechanisms. There has been recent interest in whether some people ageing with HIV may have an excess of mitochondrial dysfunction. This review aims to address this question through: analogy with ageing and chronic disease; discussion of the key unknowns; suggested ways that measures of mitochondrial dysfunction might be incorporated into HIV research studies.

Recent findings: Recent data suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction in PLWH may not be wholly a legacy effect of historical nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor exposures. Research in the non-HIV setting has altered our understanding of the important mediators of mitochondrial dysfunction in ageing.

Summary: Mitochondrial dysfunction is a very plausible driver of adverse ageing phenotypes in some older PLWH. As such it may be a target for therapeutic interventions. Currently, however, there remain considerable uncertainties around the extent of this phenomenon, and its relative importance. Current studies are likely to clarify these questions over the next few years.

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References

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    1. Cote HC, Brumme ZL, Craib KJ, et al. Changes in mitochondrial DNA as a marker of nucleoside toxicity in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med 2002; 346:811–820.
    1. Trenell MI, Sue CM, Kemp GJ, et al. Aerobic exercise and muscle metabolism in patients with mitochondrial myopathy. Muscle Nerve 2006; 33:524–531.
    1. Sinnwell TM, Sivakumar K, Soueidan S, et al. Metabolic abnormalities in skeletal muscle of patients receiving zidovudine therapy observed by 31P in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy. J Clin Invest 1995; 96:126–131.
    1. Payne BA, Hollingsworth KG, Baxter J, et al. In vivo mitochondrial function in HIV-infected persons treated with contemporary antiretroviral therapy: a magnetic resonance spectroscopy study. PLoS One 2014; 9:e84678.

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