Evidence that Par-4 participates in the pathogenesis of HIV encephalitis.
Progressive neuronal degeneration in brain regions involved in learning and memory processes is a common occurrence in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). We now report that levels of Par-4, a protein recently linked to neuronal apoptosis in Alzheimer's disease, are increased in neurons in hippocampus of human patients with HIV encephalitis and in monkeys infected with a chimeric strain of HIV-1 and simian immunodeficiency virus. Par-4 levels increased rapidly in cultured hippocampal neurons following exposure to the neurotoxic HIV-1 protein Tat, and treatment of the cultures with a Par-4 antisense oligonucleotide protected the neurons against Tat-induced apoptosis. Additional findings show that Par-4 participates at an early stage of Tat- induced neuronal apoptosis before caspase activation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Our data suggest that Par-4 may be a mediator of neuronal apoptosis in HIV encephalitis and that therapeutic approaches targeting the Par-4 apoptotic cascade may prove beneficial in preventing neuronal degeneration and associated dementia in patients infected with HIV-1.[1]References
- Evidence that Par-4 participates in the pathogenesis of HIV encephalitis. Kruman, I.I., Nath, A., Maragos, W.F., Chan, S.L., Jones, M., Rangnekar, V.M., Jakel, R.J., Mattson, M.P. Am. J. Pathol. (1999) [Pubmed]
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