Morphine causes rapid increases in glial activation and neuronal injury in the striatum of inducible HIV-1 Tat transgenic mice.
HIV encephalitis (HIVE) is accompanied by brain inflammation, leukocyte infiltration, and glial activation, and HIV patients who abuse opiates are more likely to develop HIVE. To better understand how opiates could alter HIV-related brain inflammation, the expression of astrocyte (GFAP immunoreactivity) and macrophage/microglial (F4/80 or Mac1 immunoreactivity) markers in the striatum, and the percentage of 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) positive macrophages/microglia, was determined following a 2-day exposure to morphine (5 mg/kg/day via time-release, subcutaneous implant) and doxycycline in GFAP-driven, doxycycline-inducible HIV-1 Tat transgenic mice. Data show that both morphine and Tat induction via doxycycline increased astrocyte activation, with significant additive increases achieved with combined morphine and doxycycline exposure. By contrast, combined Tat induction and morphine exposure, but neither manipulation alone, significantly increased the proportion of macrophages/microglia present in the striatum of transgenic mice, although morphine exposure was necessary to elevate 3-NT co-detection in Mac1-positive macrophages/microglia. Finally, Tat induction increased the percentage of neurons expressing active caspase-3, and this was even more significantly elevated by co-administration of morphine. In spite of elevations in caspase-3, neuronal TUNEL reactivity was unchanged in all groups, even after 10 days of Tat induction. Importantly, co-administration of naltrexone completely antagonized the effects of morphine. These findings indicate that morphine rapidly and significantly increases the activation of astrocytes and macrophages/microglia in the brains of inducible Tat transgenic mice, supporting the theory that early inflammatory changes in glia could underlie the development of HIVE in opiate-abusing AIDS patients.
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Annadora J
AJ
Bruce-Keller
Jadwiga
J
Turchan-Cholewo
Eric J
EJ
Smart
Theresa
T
Geurin
Ashok
A
Chauhan
Rollie
R
Reid
Ruqiang
R
Xu
Avindra
A
Nath
Pamela E
PE
Knapp
Kurt F
KF
Hauser
D000818:Animals; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D015696:Gene Products, tat / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009020:Morphine / Q000633:toxicity*; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*
D015696:Gene Products, tat; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D009020:Morphine