Persistent type I interferon signaling within the brain of people with HIV on ART with cognitive impairment.

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...

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Main Authors: Yuyang Tang, Ling Xie, Ciniso Sylvester Shabangu, Dajiang Li, Gabriela da Silva Prates, Ashokkumar Manickam, Lilly M Wong, Antoine Chaillon, Edward P Browne, Sara Gianella, Wenzhe Ho, David M Margolis, Xian Chen, Wenhui Hu, Guochun Jiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-08-01
Series:PLoS Pathogens
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013411
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author Yuyang Tang
Ling Xie
Ciniso Sylvester Shabangu
Dajiang Li
Gabriela da Silva Prates
Ashokkumar Manickam
Lilly M Wong
Antoine Chaillon
Edward P Browne
Sara Gianella
Wenzhe Ho
David M Margolis
Xian Chen
Wenhui Hu
Guochun Jiang
author_facet Yuyang Tang
Ling Xie
Ciniso Sylvester Shabangu
Dajiang Li
Gabriela da Silva Prates
Ashokkumar Manickam
Lilly M Wong
Antoine Chaillon
Edward P Browne
Sara Gianella
Wenzhe Ho
David M Margolis
Xian Chen
Wenhui Hu
Guochun Jiang
author_sort Yuyang Tang
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj-art-29537e3cebf94eeb9556f6e1f5d662212025-08-23T05:31:26ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Pathogens1553-73661553-73742025-08-01218e101341110.1371/journal.ppat.1013411Persistent type I interferon signaling within the brain of people with HIV on ART with cognitive impairment. Yuyang TangLing XieCiniso Sylvester ShabanguDajiang LiGabriela da Silva PratesAshokkumar ManickamLilly M WongAntoine ChaillonEdward P BrowneSara GianellaWenzhe HoDavid M MargolisXian ChenWenhui HuGuochun JiangTo 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.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013411
spellingShingle Yuyang Tang
Ling Xie
Ciniso Sylvester Shabangu
Dajiang Li
Gabriela da Silva Prates
Ashokkumar Manickam
Lilly M Wong
Antoine Chaillon
Edward P Browne
Sara Gianella
Wenzhe Ho
David M Margolis
Xian Chen
Wenhui Hu
Guochun Jiang
Persistent type I interferon signaling within the brain of people with HIV on ART with cognitive impairment.
PLoS Pathogens
title Persistent type I interferon signaling within the brain of people with HIV on ART with cognitive impairment.
title_full Persistent type I interferon signaling within the brain of people with HIV on ART with cognitive impairment.
title_fullStr Persistent type I interferon signaling within the brain of people with HIV on ART with cognitive impairment.
title_full_unstemmed Persistent type I interferon signaling within the brain of people with HIV on ART with cognitive impairment.
title_short Persistent type I interferon signaling within the brain of people with HIV on ART with cognitive impairment.
title_sort persistent type i interferon signaling within the brain of people with hiv on art with cognitive impairment
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013411
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