The Dual Role of HIV-1 gp120 V3 Loop-Induced Autophagy in the Survival and Apoptosis of the Primary Rat Hippocampal Neurons.

In this study, we demonstrated that autophagy was significantly increased in rat primary hippocampal neurons in response to treatment of HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop. Importantly, HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop-induced autophagy played a dual role in the cell survival and death. An increase in autophagy for a short period inhibited apoptosis of neurons, while persistent autophagy over an extended period of time played a detrimental role by augmenting the apoptotic cascade in rat primary hippocampal neurons. In addition, we found that the HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop induced autophagy via AMPK/mTOR-dependent and calpain/mTOR-independent pathways, and the ERK/mTOR pathway plays a partial role. These findings provide evidence that HIV-1-induced autophagy plays a dual role in the survival and apoptosis of the primary rat hippocampal neurons and persistent autophagy may contribute to the pathogenesis of HAND, and autophagy modulation may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for reducing neuronal damage in HAND.
PMID: 31006091 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Neurochemical Research - April 19, 2019 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Liu S, Xing Y, Wang J, Pan R, Li G, Tang H, Chen G, Yan L, Guo L, Jiang M, Gong Z, Lin L, Dong J Tags: Neurochem Res Source Type: research