New research has revealed that the HIV virus that causes AIDS has the ability to cripple the brain by killing off mature brain cells and also by preventing the regeneration of the damaged area. The study, by researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research is published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
The researchers led by Stuart Lipton, Marcus Kaul and Shu-ichi Okamoto had previously demonstrated that a protein called gp120 could potentially damage mature cells in the brain. This protein is found on the outer coating of the HIV and works by disrupting the internal chemistry of the brain cells.
In the latest study, carried out on laboratory mice, the researchers emphasized that the same protein could also prevent the proliferation of new stem cells from an area called hippocampus. The latter is that area of the brain which is responsible for memory and learning.
This mechanism might help explain why AIDS sufferers have dementia. The protein on HIV works by killing mature cells and then by preventing their replacement and repair.
"It's a double hit to the brain. The HIV protein both causes brain injury and prevents its repair," said lead author Marcus Kaul. "This indicates that we might eventually treat this form of dementia by either ramping up brain repair or protecting the repair mechanism."
Grants from the National Institutes of Health were used to fund the research.
The success of anti-retroviral drugs was minimal in preventing dementia in AIDS, but the new findings point to a different set up in the brain.
