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Neuronal ferritin heavy chain and drug abuse affect HIV-associated cognitive dysfunction
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Neuronal ferritin heavy chain and drug abuse affect HIV-associated cognitive dysfunction

Jonathan Pitcher, Anna Abt, Jaclyn Myers, Rachel Han, Melissa Snyder, Alessandro Graziano, Lindsay Festa, Michele Kutzler, Fernando Garcia, Wen-Jun Gao, …
The Journal of clinical investigation, v 124(2), pp 656-669
03 Feb 2014
PMID: 24401274
url
https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI70090View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Interaction of the chemokine CXCL12 with its receptor CXCR4 promotes neuronal function and survival during embryonic development and throughout adulthood. Previous studies indicated that μ-opioid agonists specifically elevate neuronal levels of the protein ferritin heavy chain (FHC), which negatively regulates CXCR4 signaling and affects the neuroprotective function of the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis. Here, we determined that CXCL12/CXCR4 activity increased dendritic spine density, and also examined FHC expression and CXCR4 status in opiate abusers and patients with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), which is typically exacerbated by illicit drug use. Drug abusers and HIV patients with HAND had increased levels of FHC, which correlated with reduced CXCR4 activation, within cortical neurons. We confirmed these findings in a nonhuman primate model of SIV infection with morphine administration. Transfection of a CXCR4-expressing human cell line with an iron-deficient FHC mutant confirmed that increased FHC expression deregulated CXCR4 signaling and that this function of FHC was independent of iron binding. Furthermore, examination of morphine-treated rodents and isolated neurons expressing FHC shRNA revealed that FHC contributed to morphine-induced dendritic spine loss. Together, these data implicate FHC-dependent deregulation of CXCL12/CXCR4 as a contributing factor to cognitive dysfunction in neuroAIDS.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Medicine, Research & Experimental
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