Date Published:
2025 Aug
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Authors:
PMID:
40833988
URL:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40833988/
DOI:
10.1371/journal.ppat.1013411
Abstract:
To better understand the molecular mechanism that drives neuroinflammation, we analyzed the protein profiles of 27 brains from HIV with HIV (PWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART), including various stages of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), and compared them to 9 HAND-negative controls. We found that most of the proteins that were increased-about 66.7%-were involved in immune response pathways. Of these, 23.3% were specifically related to type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling, which remains active in the brain through both HIV-related and unrelated mechanisms. Using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on brain tissues collected during rapid autopsies from participants in the Last Gift cohort, we found that IFN-I signaling was especially strong in astrocytes, microglia (MG), and endothelial cells. In a mini-brain organoid model of acute HIV infection, IFN-I signaling was also highly active in astrocytes but less so in MG. Interestingly, IFN-I activation can happen without HIV being present-expression of human endogenous retrovirus-W1 (HERV-W1) Env can directly trigger this response in astrocytes, and it continues in glial cells even with effective ART. Together, our findings point to persistent IFN-I activation in glial and endothelial cells in the brain, which may contribute to neuroinflammation and cognitive disorders in PWH on ART.