title: Evaluating the Role of Viral Proteins in HIV-Mediated Neurotoxicity Using Primary Human Neuronal Cultures.
abstract: Despite the inability of HIV-1 to infect neurons, over half of the HIV-1-infected population in the USA suffers from neurocognitive dysfunction. HIV-infected immune cells in the periphery enter the central nervous system by causing a breach in the blood-brain barrier. The damage to the neurons is mediated by viral and host toxic products released by activated and infected immune and glial cells. To evaluate the toxicity of any viral isolate, viral protein, or host inflammatory protein, we describe a protocol to assess the neuronal apoptosis and synaptic compromise in primary cultures of human neurons and astrocytes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Bronx, NY, 10461, USA.
authors.forename: Vasudev R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Public Health Research Institute (PHRI), Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, USA.|Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Eliseo A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Eugenin
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Bronx, NY, 10461, USA. vinayaka.prasad@einstein.yu.edu.
authors.forename: Vinayaka R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Prasad
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D012191:Retroviridae Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D014764:Viral Proteins
chemical_list: D012191:Retroviridae Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins
keywords: Chemokines; Cytokines; HAD; HAND; HIV-1; HIV-associated dementia; HIV-associated neurocognitive dysfunction; Neuro-inflammation; Neuronal apoptosis; Neuronal damage; Tat; gp120