title: Interactions of HIV and methamphetamine: cellular and molecular mechanisms of toxicity potentiation.
abstract: Methamphetamine (METH) is a highly addictive psychostimulant drug, whose abuse has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. METH use is disproportionally represented among populations at high risks for developing HIV infection or who are already infected with the virus. Psychostimulant abuse has been reported to exacerbate the cognitive deficits and neurodegenerative abnormalities observed in HIV-positive patients. Thus, the purpose of the present paper is to review the clinical and basic observations that METH potentiates the adverse effects of HIV infection. An additional purpose is to provide a synthesis of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that might be responsible for the increased toxicity observed in co-morbid patients. The reviewed data indicate that METH and HIV proteins, including gp120, gp41, Tat, Vpr and Nef, converge on various caspase-dependent death pathways to cause neuronal apoptosis. The role of reactive microgliosis in METH- and in HIV-induced toxicity is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neuropsychiatry Branch, NIH/NIDA Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. jcadet@intra.nida.nih.gov
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cadet
authors.forename: I N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Krasnova
mesh_terms: D019969:Amphetamine-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism; D054298:Human Immunodeficiency Virus Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D054298:Human Immunodeficiency Virus Proteins; D008694:Methamphetamine