title: Regional heterogeneity and diversity in cytokine and chemokine production by astroglia: differential responses to HIV-1 Tat, gp120, and morphine revealed by multiplex analysis.
abstract: HIV-infected individuals who abuse opiates show a faster progression to AIDS and higher incidence of encephalitis. The HIV-1 proteins Tat and gp120 have been shown to cause neurodegenerative changes either in vitro or when injected or expressed in the CNS, and we have shown that opiate drugs can exacerbate neurotoxic effects in the striatum through direct actions on pharmacologically discrete subpopulations of mu-opioid receptor-expressing astroglia. Opiate coexposure also significantly enhances release of specific inflammatory mediators by astroglia from the striatum, and we theorize that astroglial reactivity may underlie aspects of HIV neuropathology. To determine whether astroglia from different regions of the central nervous system have distinct, intrinsic responses to HIV-1 proteins and opiates, we used multiplex suspension array analyses to define and compare the inflammatory signature of cytokines released by murine astrocytes grown from cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and spinal cord. Results demonstrate significant regional differences in baseline secretion patterns, and in responses to viral proteins. Of importance for the disease process, astrocytes from all regions have very limited inflammatory response to gp120 protein, as compared to Tat protein, either in the presence or absence of morphine. Overall, the chemokine/cytokine release is higher from spinal cord and cortical astroglia than from cerebellar astroglia, paralleling the relatively low incidence of HIV-related neuropathology in the cerebellum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23298-0709, USA.
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fitting
authors.forename: Shiping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Phu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vo
authors.forename: Kurt F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Pamela E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Knapp
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D009020:Morphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; C514793:gp120 protein, Human immunodeficiency virus 1; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D009020:Morphine; D002118:Calcium