title: Differential vulnerability of calbindin-immunoreactive neurons in HIV encephalitis.
abstract: Recent studies have suggested that the neuronal damage during human immunodeficiency virus encephalitis (HIVE) might be mediated by increased intracellular calcium. Since in vitro studies have shown that calcium-binding proteins protect neurons from calcium-mediated toxicity, we hypothesized that calbindin-expressing neurons might be resistant to HIV1-mediated damage. We compared patterns of calbindin immunoreactivity in the cortex and subcortex of autopsied AIDS cases with and without HIVE. Calbindin-immunoreactive neurons in the neocortex were significantly reduced in HIVE (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.001), while these neurons in the basal ganglia and hippocampus were unaffected. The loss of calbindin-immunolabeled neurons in the neocortex was correlated with viral burden (r = -0.45, p < 0.001). Differential loss of calbindin-immunoreactive neurons in HIVE suggests that neuronal damage in different regions of the CNS may be mediated by different pathogenic mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0624, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Masliah
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Achim
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Wiley
mesh_terms: D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D064026:Calbindins; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D064026:Calbindins; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G