Associations of regional amyloid-β plaque and phospho-tau pathology with biological factors and neuropsychological functioning among HIV-infected adults.

TitleAssociations of regional amyloid-β plaque and phospho-tau pathology with biological factors and neuropsychological functioning among HIV-infected adults.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsSoontornniyomkij, V, Moore, DJ, Gouaux, B, Soontornniyomkij, B, Sinsheimer, JS, Levine, AJ
JournalJ Neurovirol
Volume25
Issue6
Pagination741-753
Date Published2019 12
ISSN1538-2443
KeywordsAdult, Aged, Amyloid beta-Peptides, Brain, Cognition, Female, HIV Infections, HIV-1, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neurofibrillary Tangles, Neuropsychological Tests, Plaque, Amyloid, tau Proteins
Abstract

With increasing age, the general population is increasingly vulnerable to the development of cerebral amyloid-β (Aβ) plaque and neuronal phospho-tau (p-tau) pathology. In HIV disease, prior studies of these neuropathologic changes were relatively limited. Here, we characterized Aβ plaques and p-tau lesions by immunohistochemistry in relevant brain regions (prefrontal neocortex, putamen, basal-temporal neocortex, and hippocampus) of HIV-infected adults. We used multivariable logistic regression to predict regional Aβ plaque or p-tau pathology based on demographic factors, apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes, HIV disease-related factors, and regional gliosis. We used multiple linear regression to predict T-scores in neuropsychological domains based on regional Aβ plaque or p-tau pathology. We found that APOE ε4 alleles, older age, and higher plasma HIV-1 RNA predicted prefrontal Aβ plaques (odds ratio (OR) 5.306, 1.045, and 0.699, respectively, n = 168). Older age predicted putamen Aβ plaques (OR 1.064, n = 171). APOE ε4 alleles, hepatitis C virus seropositivity, and higher plasma HIV-1 RNA predicted hippocampus Aβ plaques (OR 6.779, 6.138, and 0.589, respectively, n = 56). The p-tau lesions were sparse in the vast majority of affected cases. Lifetime substance use disorder and higher plasma HIV-1 RNA predicted putamen p-tau lesions (OR 0.278 and 0.638, respectively, n = 67). Older age and gliosis predicted hippocampus p-tau lesions (OR 1.128 and 0.592, respectively, n = 59). Prefrontal Aβ plaques predicted lower speed of information processing (n = 159) and putamen Aβ plaques predicted lower levels of attention and working memory (n = 88). Regional p-tau lesions were not significantly predictive of any neuropsychological domains. In conclusion, Aβ plaque or p-tau pathology in different brain regions was predicted by different sets of biological factors. Aβ plaques in prefrontal neocortex and putamen predicted poorer functioning in cognitive domains relevant to these brain regions. The absence of significant impact of regional p-tau lesions on neuropsychological functioning might be explained by the subthreshold burden of p-tau lesions.

DOI10.1007/s13365-019-00761-y
Alternate JournalJ Neurovirol
PubMed ID31144289
PubMed Central IDPMC6883131
Grant ListU24 MH100929 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
U24 MH100925 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
P50 DA026306 / DA / NIDA NIH HHS / United States
U24 MH100931 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
R01 MH096648 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
U24 MH100930 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
U24 MH100928 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
R56 AG059437 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States